ADULTS and children in Brierfield are invited to have their say on how £56,000 should be spent to improve Heyhead and Benthead Parks.

A large proportion of the money, which has come from a variety of sources including the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Brierfield and Reedley's capital programme, Brierfield Town Council and the capital programme for playground improvements, will be used to revamp the playground in Heyhead Park.

Fred Stewart, the council's parks outreach officer, will give a presentation on five proposed schemes for the playground at the park during tonight's meeting of the Brierfield and Reedley committee, at Brierfield Town Hall.

An inaugural meeting of The Friends of the Parks in Brierfield will be held at 10am, on Thursday, in Brierfield Town Hall and local schoolchildren at Mansfield High School and Holy Trinity and Walter Street Primary Schools will be consulted on the plans over the next few weeks.

The Friends of the Parks in Brierfield meeting has been organised by Pendle Council's parks, cemeteries and outdoor recreation section which secured the funding.

People attending the meeting will elect officers for the newly-established group .

Mr Stewart said: "We want local people to along and give us their ideas on how we should spend this money to improve both parks. The more the merrier. These parks are for the benefit and use of local people and it is vital that local people have a say in how these parks are managed and developed in the coming years.

"We went to five playground manufacturers and gave them a brief for the age range of children who would be using it and gave them a figure to work to and various schemes have been proposed.

"The schemes will go to the committee meeting tonight but before any decision is made on which scheme will be chosen we will be going to the local schools to ask what the children want. After all they are the ones who will be using it. We also want people to have their say on how the parks are landscaped."

The remainder of the cash will be spent on new cricket wickets in Benthead Park and landscaping of both parks.

All the improvement work is expected to be completed by the end of March 2002

Roy Clarkson, chairman of the council's Brierfield and Reedley area committee, said: "The forming of a Friends of the Parks group is essential if we are to provide parks fit for the new millennium."