Popular Halesowen park freshened up for future generations
A popular park in Halesowen now has even more to offer visitors after the completion of a £50,000 project to enhance the play facilities.
Thanks to a grant of £45,000 from Enovert Community Trust (ECT), provided through the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF), the Bernard Oakley Memorial Gardens in Cradley now has a refurbished and improved play area with new slides and swings as well as a rope crossing challenge.
For older children and adults there is also a range of trim trail equipment, to encourage engagement in physical activity.
The new play equipment, which is mostly constructed from recycled materials, also incorporates features to ensure it can be used by children with disabilities.
The Friends Group of Bernard Oakley Memorial Gardens and Dudley Council undertook the fundraising and managed the project, engaging in extensive consultation with the local community to gauge what improvements and new facilities they would like to see.
They then used the feedback to develop the detailed plans.
Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods at Dudley Council said: “Now the facility is open at Bernard Oakley it continues to be well received by the public and is used by a wide range of age groups and enjoyed by the local community.
"The additional trim trail equipment and inclusive items has made a huge difference to children in the local area.”
The three-acre park was originally presented to Halesowen Borough Council in 1953 by Mr and Mrs James Oakley in memory of their son, Bernard Oakley who died in 1944 while on active service in Holland.
In keeping with the original bequest, the new play area will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will have unrestricted public access.
Angela Haymonds, trust manager of Enovert Community Trust, said: “The Bernard Oakley Memorial Gardens is a popular, well-used green space in Halesowen, and the trustees were very pleased to support this project to provide an inclusive play environment to children of all ages.
"We hope that the local community gets great use from the equipment for many years to come.”
The Bernard Oakley Memorial Gardens is located around 5 miles from Enovert’s Himley Landfill Site.
