Four city play areas set for £1.5m revamp

FOUR playgrounds in Newcastle have been promised major investment to transform them into flagship family attractions.

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The play areas in Blakelaw Park, Riverside Country Park in Newburn, Elswick Park and Ouseburn’s City Stadium will each get around £250,000, as council bosses seek to develop them into “destination” facilities.

Seven further play sites around Newcastle will also receive £90,000 each for refurbishment works, under plans to be signed off by Labour councillors next week.

These latest proposals mark the third phase of a plan originally unveiled in 2018, when Newcastle City Council pledged upgrades to all 160 of its playgrounds.

The local authority has previously faced criticism over the slow progress of those renovation works and confirmed this week that 66 playgrounds had received investment so far.