COMMUNITY groups have been celebrating after the keys to a historic park lodge were officially handed over yesterday.

Friends of Bowling Park, e:merge, and the BD4 Community Trust have banded together to take over Bowling Park Lodge, and have a 50-year lease on the building.

Formerly used as Council offices, building and renovation work starts next week to turn the lodge into a hub for the community, featuring a café and community buildings.

Bowling and Barkerend Councillors Rizwana Jamil, Imran Khan and Hassan Khan also joined the community for the celebration.

Dave Brickman, chairman of Friends of Bowling Park, said: “It was a fantastic day to mark six years of hard work and the start of the next adventure.

“It’s fantastic to see so many people from different parts of the community, and it’s great to finally have the keys.”

Cllr Hassan Khan added: “This is a good result for the community and I think it is a good step forward.

“Families will be able to come to the park with their young children and enjoy the facilities.

“This is what we want, we want to see the park is safe, friendly and a fun place to be.

“Friends of Bowling Park look after it and keep it clean and the Council is looking after the park as well, and this is the best way to move forward.”

Andy Sykes, chief executive of e:merge, said: “We are very excited, it is going to change how the park is used for young people.

“It will bring a huge benefit to the community, it will be a community venue hopefully full of people of all ages.”

Mel Astin, BD4 Community Trust project manager, said: “It will be somewhere safe, comfortable and warm that families can go to, be together, have a nice drink and just be together.

“We hope it will encourage more people to come to the park and the lodge will be somewhere they are drawn to.”

The lodge will be run by community interest company ASH Yorkshire, made up of more than 100 local members, with all profits reinvested into the lodge and local charities.