Proceeds from a dale village hall summer fair will help pay for new play equipment in Woodland.
When one of the items of play equipment in the village play park was damaged earlier in the year it had to be removed due to safety issues.
Woodland Parish Council, determined to replace it with a multi-use activity unit suitable for primary school aged children, launched a campaign to raise the £54,000 for it to become a reality.
To boost funds secured through donations and grants Woodland Village Hall hosted a summer fair and have donated proceeds to the campaign, recently handing over £1,000 to the parish council.
Louise Newton, chairwoman of the village hall, said: “We thought because we have been helped by the parish council in the past it would be nice to make a donation back. It was our turn to pay it forward.
“We had our summer fair and wished to donate to the play park cause as it is very import to the village.”
Cllr Nick Peckett, chairman of the parish council, said: “The new piece of equipment will be bigger than the Mobilis we had to take out.
“We do have financing promised but when the multi-use activity equipment is installed it will have an effect on our insurance as it will go up.”
Funding for the equipment has been provided by grants from Awards for All, the Hadrian Trust, with donations from Durham County Councillors James Cosslett and Robert Potts as well as money from the local authority’s section 106 fund.
A race night held at the Edge Hotel also boosted the play park appeal by £400.
Cllr Peckett added the council hope to order the new equipment next month with it installed in the spring.
He added: “The plan is to install the new equipment in March and that will take about two weeks.”
Mrs Newton added: “The play park is really important in the village and it is a real team effort.”
