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On Wednesday 23 June, a small ceremony was held to officially open the new inclusive play park at Weyroc Park, Annan.

The Inclusive Play Park has been installed by KOMPAN (Scotland) LTD and an Interactive SUTO Wall, which is a first for Dumfries and Galloway, and the second of these in Scotland, has been installed by JUPITER PLAY LTD.

The story of the park began when a group of local parents contacted their Elected Members to highlight the lack of accessible facilities available within the town which lead to the formation of Annan Play Park Steering Group (APPS).

In February 2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council prioritised £500,000 of investment to assist in the development of 3 inclusive play parks in Stranraer, Dumfries and Annan. The main aim of an inclusive park is to provide facilities accessible to all, enabling, through the design of the space, all park users to play together safely.

The council provided funding of £125,000 towards an inclusive park and has supported the APPS group who have since been successful in securing £107,500 of additional funding from The Holywood Trust, Robinson Trust, Awards for All and Tesco’s Bags for Life Fund as well as raising funds through local fund-raising events. 

The APPS group and Dumfries and Galloway Council worked together to carry out consultation with the community to establish the most suitable location for the park and what elements were needed to make it accessible to all.  This information was used to determine the final project design.

In addition to the park itself there has been considerable investment within Newington Leisure Centre including the addition of a Changing Places Toilet which will make a huge difference to the lives of people with enhanced needs.

The APPS group have not finished yet though…they are now actively fundraising and focusing on phase 2 of the project to deliver a skate park and more interactive equipment in 2022.

Andy Ferguson, Chair of Communities Committee said

“This project has been a great example of our Council and community partners working together to achieve a project which brings huge benefits to the local area and most importantly to children and young people.  The hard work and determination of the APPS Group is to be commended. The addition of fully accessible toilet facilities in Annan will make such a difference to the lives of many.”

John Martin, Vice Chair of Communities Committee said;

“This is a great facility for Annan and has been a huge team effort.  It is also fantastic that the APPS group are continuing to raise funds, adding to the Councils initial investment I’m looking forward to seeing their plans for Phase 2.”

Ronnie Ogilvie (Chair of APPS) said

“It truly has been teamwork. A small, dedicated group on the committee have worked for some 5 years to achieve this and I’m so proud of everyone, the unsung heroes those who have dealt with the day-to-day practical things.  I want to single out Louise Ross for her total dedication to the cause and her unflinching motivation to get this park up and running.  I would also like to thank all the funders as without their support we could not have achieved this. Many thanks to all the DGC officials who have been invaluable in their support and all the members of the community who have been involved with the delivery of this flagship play park.

We are currently looking at the phase 2 and hope the wider community will get involved and help us achieve our plans to further develop the park area.  It has been 5 years in the planning, but we are there now so please come along with your family and enjoy and respect this super area.”