In 2012 when Shirebrook Town Council took over the running of the Leisure Centre and it's attached land, it was always an aspiration to transform the area now known as the Town Park into a destination park that could be enjoyed by the whole family.
In April 2016 a community group called Shirebrook Town Leisure Committee, Shirebrook TLC for short, was established to achieve public participation in the development of various projects in the Town. The first project to be approached would be the Town Park.
The group consisted of representatives from the Town Council, the District Council, the County Council, local business and most importantly, members of the public.
Play companies were approached for design proposals and the group selected Proludic as the preferred partner for the project.
The overall project would include supplementing the already popular skate park with a children's park, a wet play area, outdoor gym equipment, interactive play pieces and both formal and informal planting across the area.
Estimates received indicate that the entire project would cost in the region of £450,000 to £600,000 and when setting budgets for the 2015/2016 financial year it was agreed to allocate £50,000 from the Town Council towards the Town Park project. Following on from that £30,000 was then pledged from Bolsover District Council and more recently £52,000 has been awarded from Derbyshire County Council (Specifically - Phase 1 Contribution of £25,000, Phase 2 Contribution of £25,000 and £2,000 towards the planned orchard area).
Whilst this is a great start, there is a lot more yet to find and the funding process will be continued.
We welcome the input of members of the public and part of the initial consultation process for phase 1 has included visiting all local primary schools to get direct opinions from local children. We have also had representatives standing at various local events to encourage further public consultation.
Phase 1 of the project was decided to be the children's play area and I am happy to report the equipment for this phase has now been ordered, and installation works should commence in the next couple of weeks, so we are still on target for a phase 1 completion date in early Spring.
Shirebrook Town Park - Phase 1
