Boost for Gunton Community Park

IT has been a case of lights, camera and action at a Lowestoft park this week.

Gunton people can now enjoy better facilities in safer surroun-dings after receiving funding for their community park.

A security camera system has been put in place, along with two new bins and a community woodland area at the park, off Montgomery Avenue.

Much of the improvement work has been down to the commitment of a group of volunteers known as the Friends of Gunton Community Park.

They have been working in partnership for more than six

years with organisations such as Waveney District Council to ensure a fun and safe environment

for people of all ages.

The installation of a CCTV camera, linked to the council's control room, has been sought by local people for many years and has now been made possible thanks to funding from Lowestoft Together. Suffolk police, the county council's corporate regen-eration fund and Waveney Tenants Forum also contributed to the project.

The new bins, for dog waste and general litter, were provided through locality funding from county councillor David Thomas.

The Friends secured even more funding last year from the Heritage Lottery Fund so that a comm-

unity woodland area could be developed. More than 300 trees were planted last November in an initiative that involved representatives of the police, councils, the Green Light Trust, Denes High School, Comm-unity Payback and local people.

Stuart Halsey, community cohesion officer at Waveney council, said: 'The Friends of Gunton Community Park are a great example of how a community group can make a real difference to the area they live in, and have proved the benefits of partnership work. They should all be very proud of what they have achieved.'

For more information about the Friends of Gunton Community Park and to get involved, contact the council on 01502 523354.