It’s taken 20 years, but now a village is celebrating a community park which is a testament to volunteers’ dogged dedication, as Nicky Carter reports…
COTHERSTONE children’s play park is a 3.5-acre oasis in the centre of the village which has been 20 years in the making.
There is play equipment for youngsters of all ages, also benches, picnic tables, wildlife walks and is accessible to all. It is testament to the hard work and dedication of volunteers who took on the challenge two decades ago to refurbish the area.
Back in 2003 Cotherstone Parish Council appealed for help revamp the village play park and 13 residents came forward. So began a 20-year odyssey to transform and expand the area behind Fitzhugh Court into the community asset it is today. Dreda Foster, a parish councillor at the time and one of the founding trustees, said: “We had a fantastic response. People saw there was a need to do something. The old park was in a sorry state.”
Choosing to call themselves Play@Cotherstone the volunteers, most of whom were parents with young children, got to work immediately canvassing the community for ideas.
By December 2004 they had registered as a charity and outlined their plans to the parish council.
Mark Windle, chairman of the charity’s trustees, said: “I thought if you wanted to make something happen, you have to step up. We were all full-working parents. When I got involved my kids were just knee-high, now both of them are at university. Most of the original volunteers have stuck with it.”
By March 2005, the charity had taken over the running of the old play park from the parish council and had begun securing funding. They spoke to Northern Electricity about moving overhead power cables.
Mr Windle added: “It took a lot of work to get the funds to make it happen as well as handle the expectations of the funders. But we also had lots of pro bono work from local individuals and businesses that helped make this happen.”
Teesdale District Council praised the plans when they were submitted, and approved them unanimously. Cllr Ken Robinson said then: “Ninety-five per cent of the villages in Teesdale would welcome the facility with open arms.”
Physical work on the park began in January 2006 and the old park closed. A few months later, Play@Cotherstone signed a 25-year lease for a 3.5-acre agricultural field with the Birkett family.
By the autumn, the newly-expanded play park was opened to the public with new and refurbished equipment.
The official opening however only took place two years later after the final piece of equipment, a large hill slide was installed.
Charity trustee Anna Urbanowicz said: “Getting the slide in was a job in itself and it stopped the traffic in the village.”
The park was officially opened in March 2008 when resident John Birkett cut the ribbon.
Since then, the charity volunteers have continued to maintain and improve the site which now features a lockable storage barn, donated by a village resident, replenishing and replacing equipment when needed as well as installing a track for BMX bikes.
In the summer Play@Cotherstone hosted a party at the village hall for a double celebration. They marked their 20th anniversary with news they had secured the play park’s future by purchasing the freehold of the land it sits on from Mr Birkett, who also donated an acre.
Mr Windle said: “It means the community asset is there for the next generations to come.”
Ms Urbanowicz said: “Being part of the group that helped create the park is one of the things I’m most proud of. At the time we started it, it was a lifeline for me. We had not long been living in Cotherstone and with young children we didn’t know many people.”
A commemorative stone was unveiled last month at the park to mark the dedication of volunteers and supporters who stepped up and helped transform a once ageing facility into a haven for everyone.
Mr Windle added: “Thank you to all who generously helped make this happen with grants, donations and help over the past 20 years. It will be part of the village history and also for the kids to know the role people have made to make it happen.
“Most of the trustees have stuck with it all the way through and we said we would get through the land purchase, but then we need some new people to pick up the torch and carry on.”
