HUNDREDS of residents attended the grand opening of Carnforth’s newly created Crag Bank Park.

Held on April 2, the official opening of the new play park and woodland trail at Crag Bank Park; after a nearly two-year project; saw nearly 200 residents turn out to celebrate the revamp of the tired, old, and little used play area. 

The hard work and endless fundraising resulted in over £65,000 being raised. 

Stef Gray and the Public Realm team at Lancaster City Council have provided advice and support throughout including installation of the equipment for the new play area which is now a fantastic facility for children of all ages to play on. 

The area has welcomed new picnic benches and seating for parents so that they can watch their little ones play on a wide range of new and challenging equipment.   

In the early days of the project an online survey sought the views of neighbours and users to ascertain exactly what they wanted to see in the park.  

In November 2021, fourteen fruit trees were planted to provide the community with an orchard.

A hedgerow had also been established with the support of The Woodland Trust and over a dozen bird boxes have been installed throughout the park area.  

During this same time period, Lancaster City Council planted over 1500 bulbs which, in the months and years to come, will flourish into a floral meadow. 

Carnforth Town Councillor and Crag Bank resident, Steve Watson has been the driving force behind the project which can be a challenge at any time but events over the past couple of years made fundraising and progress that little more difficult.

The project has succeeded through the determination and tireless efforts of the Friends of Crag Bank Play Area, including Gemma Wilson, who was instrumental in driving funding applications, running raffles, and generating many ideas to raise funds.   

In his speech before the opening of the new facility, Councillor Watson thanked the many benefactors who have helped to fund the project, including Councillor Kath Bromilow MBE; Carnforth Town Council, The Lancashire Environmental Fund, The People’s Postcode Lottery, Sodexo, Tesco, Carnforth Rotary, and every neighbour who donated along the way.   

Special thanks went to Councillor Paul Turner - who made and sold over 50 carved reindeers - many of which can be seen in gardens in Crag bank - with much of the proceeds going towards the park fund. 

Cllr Watson said following the event: “It was a brilliant and we had a great day. The weather was kind to us and we had a good couple of hundred people turn out for the event.

“For the day we had an online draw where people would put their kids forward to be able to cut the ribbon.

“We had twelve kids nominated by their parents, and two kids held the ribbon for a four-year-old lad who cut the ribbon with his dad.

“When we opened the gates, they flooded in. I went out there on the Sunday with my dog and it was still packed.

“The whole project started back in January 2020 when we contacted the public realm at the Lancaster Council after we received comments from the community about wanting a new park.

“The whole project took about two years to do and we raised over £65,000. Covid slowed us down but we still managed to get it done.”

Dan Taylor ran focus groups and provided many designs which assisted in achieving the end result and Andrew Kitchen, Michelle Holden and Terry and Antonia Allum have all contributed with help, ideas, and support.