Mayor of Gateshead Councillor Maureen Chaplin joins Peggy Beeston MBE, founding member of the Stoneygate Community Association, and Audrey Brown, current chair of the Stoneygate Community Association, at the opening of the newly refurbished Stonyegate Play Park.
A community in Gateshead has a new play park thanks to the efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers.
A brand new play park for the children of the Stoneygate area of Gateshead has been created thanks to many hours of work from a group of local residents who gave up their time for free to ensure their children had the best facilities.
The Stoneygate Association managed to secure £185,000 of funding from Gateshead Council, the Big Lottery Fund, Sita and the Gateshead Housing Company to transform a rundown children’s play area. Recently reopened, the park now offers local kids a new and exciting place to spend their free time with friends.
One of the volunteers who have worked hard to secure the funding for the play parks makeover was Audrey Brown, Chair of the Stoneygate Community Association. Audrey said: “I spend a lot of time making phone calls and asking for help now I’m retired but I love it. I’m all for Stoneygate, I’ve lived here for 37 years, my Children have been brought up here and now my grandchildren are being brought up here. We’re a bit of an island really, a residential area in amongst a lot of industry and busy Metro and railway lines and roads so its important that we have somewhere safe for the children here to play.”
Gateshead Council is celebrating the role that volunteers play in making Gateshead a better place to live throughout 2008 through its Year of Volunteers programme.
Councillor David Napier, cabinet member for safer, stronger communities at Gateshead Council said: “Whilst this play park is a really visible result which shows just how much dedicated volunteers, like Audrey, put into their communities – so much more hard work often goes unnoticed. We are working hard to redress that and recognise the vital part which volunteers play in making Gateshead the great place that it is.”
Stoneygate Community Association was started in 1986 when a house on the Stoneygate estate became vacant and a band of local people came together to transform the house into a play house for local children. One of the most prolific early members was Peggy Beeston MBE who led the campaign in the early ‘90s to obtain the land for a play park. Such was her success that she was recognised for her contribution to volunteering by the Queen.
Since then the now ten strong committee have expanded into a second house, organise trips away for local children and even despite this latest round of improvements to Stoneygate Community Playpark are looking for still more improvements there too for the 116 children on the estate.
Volunteers in Gateshead already help to transform the landscape, make life better for countless vulnerable people, look after the history of the North East and protect wildlife among a whole host of activities. In it’s Vision 2030 Sustainable Community Strategy, Gateshead Council sets its sights on achieving 1,000,000 volunteer hours a year to ensure that this work continues and becomes an even bigger part of the borough’s future.
The Year of Volunteers is a partnership led by Gateshead Council working with Gateshead Strategic Partnership and Gateshead Voluntary Organisations Council.