A new extended play area has been opened by Rishi Sunak MP in the village of East Harlsey, near Northallerton.
The Richmond MP cut the ribbon to declare the play park open at a social evening attended by more than 60 villagers.
Mr Sunak praised the villagers and the village hall committee for raising the money required to upgrade the existing play facilities. The park is now larger and has additional equipment to supplement the play facilities which had been in place since 1996.
He said: “This is an excellent example of a community coming together, carrying out a survey to see what was wanted and coming up with a plan which has been followed through. I am sure these excellent new facilities will be enjoyed for many years to come.”
The work carried out behind the village hall has been completed at a cost of £30,000. The money was raised by villagers with help from Hambleton District Council, the local developers’ fund and the Friends of the local school. A large grant was also received from the National Lottery Awards For All scheme and members of the village cricket club also provided practical support
Richard Martin, chairman of the village hall committee, said the project had begun five years ago when a group of parents had enouraged the committee to consider an upgrade to play park.
He said: “Since then, a lot of hard work by local people and volunteers has gone in to make this happen but now we have an exciting new play area to meet the needs of our youngsters and to bring the community together.”
The play park initiative was also recently recognised by Hambleton District Council. In it’s recent community awards the village hall was voted Community Hall of the Year for its work in creating excellent community facilities.