KELBROOK looks set to get its long awaited children's playground to mark the new millennium.

Welcome news of a £5,000 cash grant from the Pendle Community Safety Partnership means that the £28,000 scheme is likely to go ahead in the coming year.

Although the £5,000 grant is only a small part of the total sum, it could be the key to fitting all the pieces together.

Kelbrook and Sough Parish Council - the driving force behind the playground scheme - has already pledged £4,000. More funding is expected from Pendle Council's Rural Development Area budget, and Pendle's West Craven committee has indicated its willingness to help make up any shortfall.

Between them, they should be able to reach £14,000 - half the estimated total cost. The other half should come from the rural arm of the Government's new Regional Development Agency. It has agreed to "match fund" the scheme, in other words matching pound for pound the money raised locally.

It is excellent news for Kelbrook and Sough Parish Council, which has fought for years to establish a children's playground in Kelbrook, a village with no such facility. Over recent years it has worked closely with Kelbrook Primary School and its headteacher Wendy Harvey to site the proposed play area in part of the school field.

The school is already developing an "outdoor classroom" in part of the field and felt the playground would complement it well. There were some concerns about the proximity to the main road through Kelbrook, but the playground will include design features to shield it from the busy road.

News of the crucial £5,000 grant from the Community Safety Partnership has also been welcomed by members of the partnership's West Craven Working Group. It was only formed late last year and this was its first substantial bid for funding to the partnership's central steering group. Administered by Pendle Council, the partnership aims to improve community safety across the borough through schemes such as improved street lighting, anti-crime initiatives and safe places to play.

Chairman of the partnership's West Craven Working Group, Tim Haigh, said he was delighted at the bid's success and hoped it would help all the other pieces of the playground scheme fall into place.

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