Chelmsley Wood playground secures seven-year lease

MERIDEN Adventure Playground has received a major boost after the council agreed a long-term lease.
The local authority recently approved a seven-year lease with the trustees who run the Chelmsley Wood site.
The deal is designed to give the playground long-term security and make it easier to apply for funding from elsewhere.
Many grants often hinge on an organisation being able to prove that it has some assurances about how long it can remain at a location.
Chris Barr, the council’s head of public realm, said the playground’s request for a more long-term arrangement was “entirely reasonable”.
An immense amount of work has been done by the Meriden Adventure Playground Association
(MAPA) to make the facility self-sufficient.

This follows the council’s controversial decision to bring funding to an end in 2017.
Other Side of Solihull has since reported on the extraordinary efforts of residents to keep the site going.
Coun Ken Hawkins, the cabinet member for environment and highways, paid tribute to them at the recent meeting.
“We went through all the angst two years ago ... when the council made the decision to pull away from some of this type of funding.
“I think it’s smashing how they’ve evolved, become sustainable and getting grant funding [from elsewhere].”