Published Thursday 16 May 2024 at 9:19
Blackburn with Darwen Council is set to use new Levelling Up funding to help repair and renovate two popular Blackburn multi use games areas.
The news comes just months after it was revealed that the Council had successfully secured an impressive £20m from the new Levelling Up Partnership with Government.
As well as investing in the likes of King George’s Hall, Imperial Mill and The Exchange, the Council has set aside £1m for Corporation Park and neighbourhood improvements.
Now, Councillor Quesir Mahmood, the Council’s Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Growth and Development, has announced plans to use that funding to complete repair works to the MUGA in Philips Road and renovate the one in Troy Street too.
Councillor Quesir Mahmood, the Council’s Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Growth and Development, said:
We know just how popular these multi use games areas are and how valued they are by the community.
We also know just desperate the repairs and renovations are too.
Sadly, with the huge budget pressures the Council has faced due to austerity over the last decade, we’ve seen facilities like these decline against all our wishes.
As a Council we’re determined to do the very best we can for our residents and so have worked hard to help secure much-needed funding from elsewhere, including the likes of the Levelling Up Partnership.
In fact, I’m proud to say we’ve secured more than £120m of new Government investment for our borough in recent years – testament to a lot of hard work, dedication, and the Government’s faith in us to deliver.
For some weeks now, we’ve been finalising with Government our business plan for how the £20m will be spent, including the funding for Corporation Park and the neighbourhood MUGA projects, and I’m looking forward to being able to announce more details about the difference it is going to help make soon.
This really is fantastic news!
At the heart of the £20.3m Levelling Up Partnership bid is £8m to renovate the ever-popular King George’s Hall – the jewel in the crown of Blackburn’s £50m Cultural Quarter.
Councillor Mahmood added:
Growth is incredibly important to us as a Council for the future success of our borough – indeed, we’re on a mission to create a more prosperous borough where no one is left behind.
And, while we have the bigger projects which we know will drive transformational change, we’re just as focused on creating strong communities.
As such, as a Council, we’re focused on the issues that residents tell us are important to them – with parks and playgrounds always high on the agenda.
As well as the welcome £750,000 investment for Corporation Park, we recently officially unveiled the new playgrounds at Witton Park too – those improvements were funded by contributions from new homes in the area and it’s the most we’ve ever spent on playground upgrades in the borough.
And, we’ve committed £200,000 to upgrading two playgrounds in Darwen – at Whitehall Park and Bold Venture.
We’ll keep building on this as best we can and make the most of every single penny we secure. This is exactly what residents want us to do when we get elected.
Thanks to strong financial planning, this year the Council has also committed an extra £1.7m for things that residents said really matter to them, including funding for park attendants, more playground upgrades and shrub pruning.
For all the latest updates on these projects and the Levelling Up Partnership funding, please follow Blackburn with Darwen Council on Facebook, X or Insta.
You can also find out more about what’s planned for the borough at: www.discoverbwd.com