Rothes Community Playpark Group smashes initial fundraising target
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE Rothes Community Playpark Group are one step closer to making their new playpark a reality after smashing their initial fundraising target.
The Robertson Trust and Edrington contributed £14,000 to the group's total. An additional £5,000 was also contributed by the Hugh Fraser Foundation bringing the total money raised to £163,000.
The group had set an initial fundraising target of £120,000 but recent donations have seen that target surpassed.
Nicola Cowie, who is heading up the group, said: "When we spoke to Moray Council they initially decided to grant us £50,000 through a capital investment fund.
"We decided in the end to target £120,000 so we could develop a new park that would last for 20 years or more. We could have tried to go for it in stages but we really wanted to get it done in one go.
"We've been really lucky to have some big investors believe in us and we couldn't be any more grateful."
When the group set their fundraising target they did so believing that it would only be met in the long term. However, in the space of nine short months the group have not only hit their target but surpassed it by some £43,000.
"We couldn't believe that we raised the money so quickly," Nicola added.
"We're really lucky that everybody pulled together to help despite Covid and things like that. It's all looking really promising at the moment and we hope to have the park up and running next spring."
The group say that the initial £120,000 will go towards surfacing the entire area and buying new play equipment. The extra funds have allowed the group to add a trim trail, picnic area and include wheelchair access. The park will also be enclosed with a fence to "keep the kids in and the dogs out."
Before locals can get too excited though, Nicola has warned that they're not quite finished yet as the group still have a few considerations to make.
She said: "We are still going to need to re-cost everything because prices are fluctuating because of Brexit and everything. We're really hopeful though that we have secured enough money to get all the extra things but we'll just need to wait and see
Despite those considerations the group's timeline remains the same. The current park, which Nicola says is already showing signs of rot, will be removed at the start of next year before the new park is installed for the spring. However, Nicola admits that delays may see that date pushed back to the summer.
Nicola is also hoping to see further investment from Asda's Green Token scheme which would help fund the purchase of of benches to be placed around the new park.
"We would be really grateful if people took the time to vote for us in the green token scheme," Nicola said.
"We're nearly there now, so we're really excited to get it all going."
