Residents in Mixenden enjoyed a family fun day event to celebrate the reopening of the Sunny Bank Road play area and the Mixenden Urban Park.
Calderdale Council is delivering improvements in the area around Ash Green Community Primary School, with funding from the Council, UKSPF and Active Calderdale. This has included works to the playground on Sunny Bank Road and the previously underused nearby recreation space, off Woodbrook Avenue.
The new, improved facilities officially opened on Saturday 21 September, with a Party in the Parks event featuring free pop-up sports activities, entertainment, arts and crafts stalls and refreshments.
Construction work has been taking place this summer to upgrade play equipment at Sunny Bank. Visitors were able to enjoy the modern new equipment, including a wheelchair-accessible roundabout, adapted swings and fun and challenging play options for both younger and older children.
The playground upgrades also include new places to sit, and new trees are due to be planted this autumn creating natural shade and shelter.
The local community were involved in the design of the improvements at the new Mixenden Urban Park, off Woodbrook Avenue. The park now benefits from a new path system into and around the area, improved entrance points, three newly surfaced courts with a multi-use games area (MUGA), basketball pitch and roadway for children to follow on bikes.
There are options for all ages, including an area designed with and for teenage girls, with seating and interactive walking trails running through the park and into the surrounding woodlands.
Feedback about both sites has been really positive, with investment supporting the Active Calderdale mission to work with communities to make physical activity a part of everyday life in Calderdale.
Improvements to the road layouts around Sunnybank Road and Ash Tree Road are also underway as part of the Ash Green Community Streets project(external link), with funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, through the Government’s Active Travel Fund.
New raised crossings and wider pavements are being created to provide more space for people walking, cycling and wheeling. The work will ultimately create safer routes around the area, encouraging active travel and supporting safer journeys to the school. The work around the school is due to be complete by the end of October.
Trees and planting this autumn will also create a more attractive environment. Sustainable features, such as rain gardens, will contribute to net zero targets and support the Council’s priority commitment to climate action.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, Cllr Sarah Courtney, said:
“Playgrounds are brilliant places to be active and have fun in Calderdale’s great outdoors, boosting young people’s wellbeing and development.
“The playground improvements at Sunnybank Road and the new facilities at the Mixenden Urban Park will allow more people to enjoy these spaces, with accessible equipment and options for both younger and older children.
“The works have also improved the look and feel of the area and complement wider improvements around Ash Green School, making the area safer and more attractive, encouraging active travel choices.”
Further work in Mixenden includes progress at the new Community Hub building, as the project is nearing completion. The hub will be a place where residents can go to access a range of services and opportunities.
Improvements in north Halifax are part of an unprecedented level of investment in Calderdale helping to grow the economy, reduce inequalities and build a sustainable future. Discover Calderdale The Next Chapter(external link).
The Next Chapter for Calderdale supports the Vision 2024 for Calderdale to be a place where everyone can live a larger life. Calderdale reached its 50th anniversary on 1 April 2024. This is the ultimate year for the Vision 2024 for Calderdale. Find out more about it here: www.calderdale.gov.uk/vision
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