King George V Playing Fields Association wins £50,000 in Big Lottery People's Millions

3:00pm Wednesday 26th November 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

The King George V Playing Fields Association in Newcastle Emlyn, is celebrating today after becoming the first recipients in Wales of £50,000 from the Big Lottery People's Millions.

The association went head to head with the All Creatures Great and small project in Llanfrechfa to win the votes of the viewing public.

The phone lines were open from 9am until midnight on Monday, with the Newcastle Emlyn project receiving the lion's share of the votes.

Last night children and adults from across the community awaited the results with baited breath. There were screams of genuine surprise and delight as ITV news presenter Carl Edwards appeared in the hall of Ysgol y Ddwylan with a huge cheque for £50,000.

The win follows months of campaigning, and a TV film which was shown on ITV Wales Tonight on Monday. Thanks to strong community support, and remote voting by family and friends across the UK, the playground committee was told they had won ‘by a comfortable margin’.

But this isn’t the only success to have been enjoyed by the committee over the last week. Last week, the Association learnt that it has also been successful in securing a £40,000 Cwm Environmental (landfill tax) grant.

The two prizes together will allow the committee to completely refit the playing field with modern, safe play equipment including a zip wire, basketball hoop, tyre swings and a fenced off toddler's area.

Landscaping, flowerbeds, perimeter walkways and a picnic area will help make the park accessible to all the community.

“We are absolutely delighted that the park is finally attracting the money it needs," said committee fundraiser Cllr Fiona White.

"As a committee, we have invested a great deal of time in fund-raising this year – particularly grant applications and national competitions. In six months we have raised £104,000 and this is mainly down to the support of everyone in our community, so a huge thank you to everyone who has helped with this.”

Fellow campaigner, Sue Tabbitt, added: “It’s absolutely fantastic news – now, we will be able to give the community the best central public space it could wish for, breathing life back into the heart of the town, and providing a safe and stimulating outdoor environment that all of the community can enjoy.

“Not a penny will be wasted, and we’ll be listening carefully to additional new ideas from local residents before we roll out the next stages of the project, so all feedback is very welcome.”