Local residents are celebrating the completion of a new £100,000 Play Area in Balgrayhill, Springburn.
 
The new play area contains a range of play equipment for toddlers and primary aged children and was officially opened on Monday 14 April 2008.  This play area will be the second to be completed out of ten new play areas planned for the north of the city.
 
It’s all thanks to a joint partnership between Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), Glasgow City Council’s Land & Environmental Services and Glasgow Community Planning Partnership to improve and regenerate neighbourhoods, focusing on giving children and young people safe areas to play or meet up.
 
Each play area is designed with the needs of the community in mind.  Local people in each of the 10 neighbourhoods have had a chance to determine the location and design of their play park through consultation with their Local Housing Organisations (LHOs).
 
The Balgrayhill Play Area site has also benefited from £130,000 additional environmental landscaping works, funded by GHA’s Neighbourhood Quality Improvement Fund (NQIF) - a partnership approach with Glasgow City Council Land and Environmental Services that aims to improve the environment of our neighbourhoods by revitalising and enhancing public and open spaces next to, or surrounding GHA properties.
 
 GHA’s Head of Regeneration David Fletcher, said: “GHA’s aim is to make a difference to our communities, creating better homes and better lives. The Play Area Improvement Programme is one key way we can help achieve this aim.  Thanks to this partnership, hundreds of children and young people will now have a safe place to play or meet up with friends and this should make a real difference to them.  Our 2007/08 programme is proving to be a great success and work on the 2008/09 programme is already underway, so that even more communities can benefit.”
 
Bailie Jim Todd, Chair of the Glasgow North East Community Planning Partnership Board said: "This grass roots approach to change, giving local people their say on local issues is working.  This is just the start but this play area is symbolic because local residents directly influenced the local action plan for the improvement of their community."