Park £200k revamp to make it 'one of the best'

A Sunderland park is set for a major revamp after receiving almost a quarter of a million pounds in funding.

Thompson Park in Southwick has been aligned £200,000 from the North Sunderland Area Committee.

The funding will be used to improve the park’s cycling and sports facilities, as well as general improvements to make the park safer and more accessible to people of all ages.

The cash was aligned by the North Sunderland Area Committee at its last meeting on December 10, which was held via videolink and broadcast on YouTube.

It forms part of the Neighbourhood Investment Capital Programme for the North area of the city in future years.

Councillor Alex Samuels, who represents Southwick, told the meeting: “Thompson Park is a really really key asset in the Southwick ward and the North area actually, for all of us.

“It has got the potential to be a real destination and activity park, we have got the space and it’s so accessible, it’s fantastic.

“This initial £200,000 will go a long way to making it the park that we want it to be, we want Southwick to be a place that people bring their families and for people to enjoy.”

Fellow Southwick councillor, Michael Butler, added: “I think Alex has said it all in terms of the regeneration at Thompson Park. It’s about time the more deprived areas were brought up to scratch to the more affluent areas because at the end of the day, that’s why we’re here.

“This is why the councillors are here to fight the corner of the residents and Alex has already said, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have one of the best parks in Sunderland.”