£628,000 Makeover Planned For Chesterton Park And Waterhayes Open Space

Chesterton Park and the open space at Waterhayes are in line for more than £628,000 of improvements under draft plans drawn up by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.

The work would be paid for with Section 106 money, which is cash that housebuilders pay as part of their planning permission. In this case it comes from housing developments already built in the area.

The plans still need Cabinet approval, and residents will be asked for their views before the designs are finalised.

At Chesterton Park, the draft masterplan would:

- refurbish the multi-use games area with repairs, fresh paint, new basketball hoops and new fencing

- add new play equipment

- turn the old tennis court into a wheeled sports area

- create a "learn to ride" space for younger children

- restore the mining memorial and wheel

- add a new plaque at the historic icehouse

- improve the entrances, planting and grassed areas, and remove broken floodlights and old tree stumps

At Waterhayes, better footpaths are planned so the open space is easier to use all year round.

The council said the draft plans came out of early conversations with local people. They will be published more widely soon.

Cllr Ben Simpson, the Cabinet member for green spaces, said Chesterton Park needed investment and that the council was "getting on with it".

Cllr Andrew Fisher, the Cabinet member for residents' services, said developer money should be spent in the communities it came from rather than "left sitting in an account", and he encouraged people in Chesterton and Waterhayes to have their say.

The announcement comes as work continues on a new playground and pump track at Bradwell Dingle, with a second pump track planned at Lyme Valley Parkway.