IT’S fair to say that much blood, sweat and tears has been spilled by a tenacious group of Gargrave people as they battled to fulfil a dream to provide new play equipment for the village.

Five years down the line and the Gargrave Playground Association can put that toil to one side and finally rest on its laurels as the bespoke play area in Airedale Avenue is enjoyed by local and visiting youngsters.

Chairman Sarah Pawson said the effort from everyone involved in bringing the project through to fruition had been monumental:

She said: “Basically it’s been really tough and now it’s done we want to give everyone a round of applause for all their hard work, especially our group of mums who managed to raise over £100,000 despite lots of hurdles, and babies, and going back to work.”

Gemma Tetley, secretary of the association explained the determination behind getting the play area dream off the ground.

She said: “Nearly five years ago in Gargrave, we started a group with just a few mums who felt that our village playground was no longer a very fun or very safe place to be.

“With aged wooden equipment that was either broken, rotten or missing, we knew we had to raise money to do this for our children.

“We all agreed that a park is, and should be, the hub and heart of a village.

“It’s a place where you meet new friends, problem-share with other parents and grandparents, while your children burn off energy and get some much needed exercise and fresh air which is essential for well-being.

“And it helps families feel part of a community and not feel cut off and alone.

“It’s also a fun and happy place for families to go to that cannot always afford to go on days out or on a holiday.

“We needed this for our village so we started to raise money, and the Gargrave playground association was born.

“We have had our fair share of struggles, tantrums and seen plenty of mums and dads stepping in and out of the group when it’s got too much over the years.

“We cannot lie; it’s been very hard work and our ideas and plans quite often had obstacles or immovable walls that drove us to the end of our patience, but this is a happy story and so we got back up, dusted off our coats and carried on.

“In the first year it took us a while to get the village council on board, maybe because our ideas were too large or we seemed too giddy in our excitement. But we knew through holding several consultations in the village that families needed a new play area.

“After a few years of countless meetings, money raising events, circus parties, craft stalls, bake sales, carol singing, Christmas grottos and numerous presentations to the village, school and council, and filling in forms and emails into the early hours we finally started moving forward and got everyone on board.

“We opened our bank account and became an official charity with a board of enthusiastic trustees.

“We started to apply for every grant and scrap of money possible to raise the large amount needed for the brand new graffiti and fire resistant equipment from Proludic.

“We started clearing large boarders and planting fruit bushes, flowers and insect loving plants in our wildlife areas. And we have a bug viewing post going in soon.

“We soon realised we also would need money for lots of new top soil and turfing, removal of the old equipment and safe disposal of wet pour rubber, plus a herringbone drainage system as the grass flooded every winter.

“At this point we lost out on major funding and the project nearly fell through. But when we thought we had lost the project help came to hand with Bentleys, RWS and Greentech who also match funded time and resources.

“We had to work hard, learn lots about building work and all pull together, we got there in the end and are now very proud to announce that we have finally completed this amazing green outdoor space for the children and their family’s to play in and enjoy.

“We have the longest zip wire we could get, a special sunk in trampoline, sit on roundabout, giant wave slide and huge triangle summit net.

“We have a small nod to the Roman history found throughout Gargrave too (The Roman villa remains and Roman road through the river). This can be seen in the Roman fort and slide for the smaller children. And in the mural we have painted.

“We also have sensory equipment such as talk tubes and even a giant Connect Four.

“There’s plenty for teens to do too, with a challenging giant climbing frame and monkey bars, plenty to hang off and bounce on.

“We also have round picnic tables that allow for wheel chairs and push chairs to be drawn up to the table top.

“The feedback has been amazing, and our recent family day a was huge success.

“It was a very happy moment seeing our once old and under used playground become alive and happy again.

“We hope that other groups that are working hard to improve their communities get the support they need.

“There are so many out there and playground projects are so important. And there are so many sources of funding out there too. From Lottery, to Roger Stott, Craven Trust and many others. “Then you have local business and companies for example the Co-op, SBS, and even Sycamore Studios who really want to help local projects.

“We are grateful of everyone’s help, and also our parish council which has been very supportive.”

Sarah Pawson concluded: “I have had the phrase “playgrounds are more than pieces of equipment” in my head for years.

“We really want to get the message out that playgrounds are not just a “nice to have” but a “need to have” and that (larger) councils should really support the parish councils which struggle to provide these invaluable resources for families, especially in rural areas.”