Playground to reopen after donations from festivals

Work has begun to reopen popular pieces of play equipment in Leazes Park playground

A dilapidated playground will be brought back into use after three festivals donated cash for repairs.

Leazes Park playground, in Newcastle, had fallen into such a poor state of repair that it was cordoned off over safety concerns.

A fundraising campaign has secured £21,000 that will allow the play area to reopen.

The majority of the money was donated by Northern Lights Newcastle, Noughty 90s Festival, and Lost Minds, which all run events in the park.

The repair work will see the aeroskate and two multi-play areas reopened, while safety repairs will be made to the younger children's play area.

The aeroglide will also be repaired in the older children's playground.

Parts of the playground in Leazes Park have been closed to the public

Northern Light's Newcastle, which runs a Christmas light trail, kicked off the fundraiser with a donation of £1,000. It also pledged to match public donations up to £10,000.

Roxy Robinson, event director at Northern Lights Newcastle, said: "The improvements will help families to enjoy the outdoors at Leazes Park together.

"We wish to thank everyone, particularly our generous customers, who donated when buying tickets to Northern Lights."

Alex Laddin, the organiser of dance music festival Lost Minds, made a personal donation of £10,000.

The Noughty 90s Festival donated £1,000, while the rest of the money was donated by the public.

The fundraising campaign was launched by Urban Green Newcastle, which is responsible for the management and upkeep of 33 parks and more than 60 allotments in Newcastle.

Although Urban Green is responsible for the maintenance of the city's parks, it does not fund the work itself.

Instead the charity said it raised money from a "variety of different sources". These included grants, commercial ventures, fundraising and donations.

Urban Green's chief executive Carol Pyrah said: "This successful fundraising campaign for Leazes Park means we can repair and reopen some of the popular, larger pieces of play equipment; and carry out further works across the play area in time for the summer."