£1m playground plan for disabled
CAMPAIGNERS are working to bring a £1 million playground for children with disabilities to Accrington.
Fundraisers need to raise the cash for the groundbreaking project which will create a unique play area at Hyndburn Leisure Centre for children with special education needs and disabilities - the first playground of its kind in the North West.
The ‘Play4Uz2’ project is a collaboration between Hyndburn Parent and Carers Group and Hyndburn council, after members Sarah Lewis and Maxine Little asked for help to support their disabled children. The plans for the playground were devised after months of consultation and working with specialists and Hyndburn Green Spaces Forum. Sarah, 40, is a parent carer to son Oliver, seven, who has a rare chromosome deletion condition, as well as chairing the Hyndburn Parent and Carers Group.
Sarah, from Oswaldtwistle, said: “We have tried to cover everything. There will be a wheelchair swing and special pictures in relief on the fences so that children can feel them and see them that way.” She added: “We struggle when we go out as a family as we can’t always play in a playground together. My son has no sense of danger, we have to follow him around and if he has any problems we have to leave the park straight away. Something like this would be ideal because it would be all fenced in so I can let Oliver have his independence and his sister Rebecca can go and play with him, which she can’t do at the moment.”
The project will cost just under £1 million, plus a further £245,000 to maintain over five years.