FAMILIES in Oulton will tomorrow be celebrating the transformation of a community play space.

Thanks to funding from a range of organisations, including Waveney District Council, the recreation area at Bonds Meadow has been redesigned and refurbished, with new equipment installed.

The new-look play area has a multi-play unit for toddlers, swings, an agility course, puzzle boards and a landscaped seating area for parents. It also features willow tunnels and a natural amphitheatre and stage, created using live willow trees. It was asked for by local children to allow them to practice and perform to their friends.

Along with local people, Bonds Meadow Association, Waveney Play Partnership, Waveney District Council and Waveney Norse secured �50,000 funding for the project. The Yard Project in Lowestoft assisted with the live willow structures, and will maintain them as part of the training it offers young people and volunteers.

Waveney councillor Allyson Barron, a local resident and driving force behind the project, said it had been a real community effort: 'Our children asked for their play area to be improved. Parents and families worked together to ensure their children's views were made known and the results will be fantastic,' she said.

Marya Parker, of the Big Lottery's Community Spaces grant scheme, run by Groundwork which funded the project, added: 'Volunteers worked very hard behind the scenes to achieve this, and it is a real credit to their efforts.'

The official opening takes place tomorrow from 11am.