Macclesfield News - written by local people

Plans to create a £300,000 community sports village within Macclesfield’s South Park have been unveiled.

Macclesfield Borough Council is working in partnership with the Friends of South Park to transform part of the 17-hectare site with play, sport, recreational social and community opportunities.

The sports village will create , a £150,000 BMX and skate park, a multi-use games area, an improved play area, and the pavilion will be converted into a community and youth café, which will also involve staff from The Hub, a youth drop-in service in Macclesfield provided by Connexions.

The main project will be the 659-square metre concrete skate park, to be built by contractor Wheelscape Skate and Ride, which will go before Macclesfield Borough Council’s Planning Committee in mid-March. The choice and design of the skate park was guided by members of the Macclesfield Skate Group.

MBC’s Parks Technical Officer Marianne Hodgkinson says: “I was delighted with the input from both the Friends and the skate group when I started working on this project last September, as I knew the activity had a huge following in Macclesfield and there were no facilities for them. The Park was also not being used as well as it could be.”

The multi-use games area will include facilities for five-a-side football, basketball and tennis, seven new benches around the bandstand and the Cherry Tree Walk have been installed, and a new picnic area by the pool is due this Spring.

Councillor Andrew Knowles, Macclesfield Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Community and Wellbeing, says: “This is a great boost for South Park and provides investment for a prominent town centre park. Our goal is to provide high-quality play, sport and recreational opportunities for local people. Well done to the Friends’ group for their vital contribution.”

The investment has come from some £200,000 of community funds to spend in the area, £50,000 from the Government’s Playbuilder Fund to improve the play area, £19,000 from the Macclesfield Partnership for a Safer Borough, and £1,500 from the Macclesfield Borough Council Grants Panel for equipment. There are also plans to designate a sports development officer to work with the community.

Sally Burgess, Chairman of the Friends of the South Park group, says: “We work hard to keep the Park looking attractive to users and this £300,000 investment will provide a much-needed new focus. The goal was to provide facilities for youngsters of all ages with a skate park, play area and tennis courts. I’m delighted to see the work start on improving South Park.”