Milton Keynes Kids' Facilities Get Huge Cash Boost from the 'Big Lottery' Fund

2.36.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 29th Sep 2007

A whopping £500,000 cheque was handed over by the Big Lottery fund this month to pay for vital new play facilities for youngsters in Milton Keynes. The presentation was made at the Stony Stratford Children's Centre.

This follows an intensive 'think tank' day at the National Hockey Stadium last year, where people working in a variety of organisations concerned with promoting children's play were invited to pool ideas about how to they wanted to improve play facilities in Milton Keynes. Throughout the summer children and young people were also able to contribute their ideas. After a wide-reaching consultation process, a shopping list was drawn up which formed the basis of Milton Keynes' application to the Big Lottery.

The money will be spent on a wide variety of projects, including:

• Dedicated play rangers to co-ordinate and promote outdoor play activities in play spaces in and around Netherfield, Fullers Slade and on the Lakes Estate

• New landscaped play areas in Conniburrow and on the Lakes Estate

• Major annual play days every year for three years.

Liberal Democrat councillor Euan Henderson, cabinet member responsible for children's play activities, said: "This is a winner on two fronts - first the very generous amount of money from the Big Lottery, and secondly because it was secured following hard work by the children themselves to identify the type of facilities they actually want to see funded.

"It's interesting and heartening to note that, in this modern age of computer games and numerous other technological distractions, the vast majority of children and young people said they would much prefer to play outside."