A NEW play park has opened in Braithwaite following five years of work by residents, politicians and community organisations.

Families flocked to the revitalised playground off North Dean Road during its official opening during the February half-term holidays.

The ribbon was cut jointly by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Joanne Dodds, and a Keighley girl, whose prize-winning picture has been transformed into the park’s welcome sign.

Salihah Mustara, who attends Our Lady of Victories School in West Lane, won a competition among schoolchildren to design the signpost.

The opening featured activities from Bradford Bulls, the Bradford play team and children’s centres, face painting by resident Becky Dickson, and food grown by the Cabbage Club at the nearby community allotment.

The play area project was spearheaded by the Braithwaite Improvement Partnership and funded by landfill charity Yorventure.

New play equipment and surfacing has been provided on the site of a rundown old playground near the top of the ‘cat steps’, which link the Braithwaite and Guard House estate with Fell Lane.

Keighley town councillor, Ian Dermondy, who became involved in the project about a year ago, this week praised Braithwaite Improvement Partnership members for their work.

He said: “It was amazing to see how many children turned up with their parents on Friday.

“The old park was falling apart but now it has lovely apparatus – it even has a zip wire. It’s nice to see a park that’s going to be used by all the children in the coming years.”

Braithwaite Improvement Partnership chairman, Katie Brown, told the Keighley News the whole community came together on Friday to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the new park.

She added: “The existing park had seen its better days and the children on the estate wanted something new.

“The project was started near five years ago when some children off the estate approached tenant activist Alex Brown.”

Jan Smithies, then a Keighley West ward councillor, brought together a group to look at the possibilities, including fellow politicians, residents, social landlord Incommunities, Bradford Council, police and the Bradford play team.

Following many months of public consultations and funding discussions, construction work finally began last November.