New group forge ahead with campaign for new Newbridge playground

Following the work of last year’s grass-roots campaign for a new playground in Newbridge, a new group has been formed to work with Kildare County Council and the wider community to bring this goal to fruition.

The group said it has already held exploratory talks with Kildare County Council Parks Department who are responsible for delivering playground facilities across the county.

While some funding has been set aside in the Capital Programme in coming years, the group said there is a lot of preliminary work to be done before a new playground can be made available to the children of the town.

A spokesperson for the group outlined that work would need to be done to identify suitable site options and appropriate design in line with the needs of the town’s large population.

"Community consultation will form part of that and research of international best practice will also be carried out to inform the project. Issues such as accessibility and safety have been identified as key elements of any new facility," it said.

"In tandem the group are working with Kildare County Council to ensure that necessary maintenance work is carried out at the existing playground to maximise its safe use until new facilities are in place."

Anyone with a particular interest or expertise in the topic is encouraged to contact the group at [email protected] and follow the progress of the project on the Newbridge Playground Group Facebook Page.