A MAJOR investment in three playgrounds has been hailed as “fantastic”.

Coun Jean Cunningham praised the refurbishment work going on at Memorial Park in her ward, Hapton with Park.

And the secretary of the Friends of Ightenhill Park,descibed the news as ‘wonderful’.

Over £127,000 is to be spent upgrading equipment and facilities at the two parks as well as the play area in Hordley Street, Burnley.

It is the final batch of investment in play areas that has seen 21 of the borough’s 60 play parks refurbished, at a cost of more than £750,000.

Coun Cunningham said: “It is fantastic and much needed, it will bring a lot of children to the park.

“Since the play area at Waterside in Padiham was refurbished there are a lot more children using it so this is great for Memorial Park.” Ida Carmichael, secretary of the Friends of Ightenhill Park, said: “We have been working towards improving the facilities in the park so this is great news.

“The equipment was out-dated so to be able to upgrade it is wonderful and will attract more people to the park.” Refurbishment work at Memorial Park will include a sand and water feature, a new slide, a sand digger, a seesaw, ladder walk and climbing frame as well as tree trunk and boulders for climbing.

Council chiefs are currently consulting with local school children over what equipment will go in Hordley Street play area, and plans are yet to be finalised for Ightenhill Park.

Coun Jeff Sumner, executive member for leisure and culture, said: “Parks and play areas are a major priority for Burnley and we take pride in our green spaces and facilities.

“Over a third of the play areas have received investment in the past five years and we carried out surveys to see which ones were most in need.

“It is important to have a good standard of play equipment for children to use and take advantage of it, it is something we wanted to provide for them.

“People get enjoyment out of parks and of going for a walk around them, or taking the children to the swings.

“The parks and play areas provide relaxation and fun and it is important that that is on offer to Burnley residents.”