Milestone in £1m village park revamp scheme

Work on a multi-use games area has been completed as part of a £1m revamp of a Leicestershire village park.

Charnwood Borough Council provided an update on the work at Memorial Park in Sileby, which is being led by the parish council.

Two new play areas are currently being installed, footpaths around the park have been upgraded and the main entrance has been redesigned to make it safer for vehicles and pedestrians, the borough council said.

The multi-use games area replaces an older facility at the park, with the entire project set to finish next year.

About £500,000 was allocated to the project by the borough council from the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

A further funding pot of about £500,000 is funding the project from developers who have permission to build in the area, taking the total cost of the scheme to approximately £1m.

Another entrance has also been landscaped and new benches have been added in the park.

The sports pavilion at the park will also be improved to broaden its use and a community garden will be created, the borough council added.

Julie Jones, Sileby Parish Council chair, said: "We are really pleased with how the project is progressing and have received very positive feedback from residents.

"We are continuing to work hard behind the scenes to complete the rest of the scheme and look forward to it all being finished in 2025.

"These improvements will benefit residents for many years to come."

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.