Campaign launched to save Wolverhampton playground

The Gatis Street Adventure Playground in Whitmore Reans, will close as part of Wolverhampton City Council plans to save £465,000 in running costs.

It is one of two sites that were axed, along with the adventure playground on Chesterton Road in The Scotlands.

But Gatis Gardeners, a community group that has been running outdoor sessions for youngsters since January last year, is bidding to take over the running of the site.

The group is negotiating a short-term lease with the council, but needs to raise £1,000 to get the scheme up and running.

The cash will pay for the administrative costs of running the on-site building and enable the group to offer a broader range of activities, including community

Maria Billington, of Gatis Gardeners, said she wants to hold regular gardening clubs along with a range of horticulturally-themed activities 'to bring life back to the site'.

She said: "This site is an important community resource and we want to take ownership of it with the aim of bringing a diverse and varied local population together.

"We are starting from a budget of nothing, a lot of volunteer hours and the love of community.

"We are looking for donations to help us get a start but we also encourage anyone local who may have skills or time to get in touch, volunteer, offer help or even if you have a business or activity idea that they feel would suit the building and grounds let us know."

The adventure playground opened in the early 1980s and ran free play activities for five to 12 year olds, including den building, bug hunting, campfires and outdoor cooking, sports, arts and crafts, low ropes and face painting.

It''s proposed closure sparked an angry response from residents, some of whom accused the council of taking facilities away from youngsters in the area.

To donate to the Gatis Gardeners cause visit gogetfunding.com/project/gatis-community-space

E-mail gatisgardeners@gmail.com for more information on the project or visit them on Facebook.