Pupils see play area build

Children from a primary school in Staffordshire have been taken to see progress with building a new play area in Heath Hayes.

Youngsters from Gorsemoor Primary School, in Gorsemoor Road, Heath Hayes, were taken to an area of open space in Meadow Way to see how it is being developed.

Cannock Chase District Council's landscape development officer Chris Sanderson was on hand to give information to the children about the work being carried out by Impact Treescape Ltd.

He said: "It was great to be able to show local school children how a play area is constructed and also to show them what the new play area will look like. The children from Gorsemoor Primary School live in this area and will be using the new equipment when the play area has been completed.

"They were very excited to see a new facility which they will be able to enjoy this summer.

"We hope to invite the school back for the official opening of the play area towards the end of May."

Year one and two pupils at the school are currently working on a project called What's Underneath which aims to teach them the importance of foundations.

The construction of the Meadow Way play area is in its initial stages and the children were able to see how the foundations for the new equipment are important to make it safe and stable.

The play area is set to be completed in May and will have areas for both younger and older children with state-of-the-art equipment.

Each piece of equipment will have a rubber safety surface underneath. A separate toddlers' play area is also being created in Hayes Way.

Plans for the play area proved extremely controversial when being considered as they initially included a skate park.

Cannock Chase District Council's planning control committee first threw out the original scheme for fear of the effect it would have on residents' lives.

But plans were later granted permission by the committee after the skate park element was removed.