Votes needed to secure £12,000 to build outdoor gym

Supermarket shoppers are being encouraged to help a bid for £12,000 to give a Bedford park a sporting make-over.
Bedford Borough Councillors  Jade Uko and Anthony Forth have successfully bid for a grant of up to ?12,000 to create an outdoor gym in Goldington Park PNL-160223-131038001Bedford Borough Councillors  Jade Uko and Anthony Forth have successfully bid for a grant of up to ?12,000 to create an outdoor gym in Goldington Park PNL-160223-131038001
Bedford Borough Councillors Jade Uko and Anthony Forth have successfully bid for a grant of up to ?12,000 to create an outdoor gym in Goldington Park PNL-160223-131038001

Tesco customers can “vote” for a scheme to build an outdoor gym in Goldington Park by putting the token they get with each transaction into the park’s ballot box.

The proposal was put to Tesco’s Bags of Help Scheme by Goldington Ward Councillors Jade Uko and Anthony Forth, and, depending on the number of ‘votes’ received, will get £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000 of funding from the grocer.

Cllr Uko said: “The project is an important step forward in revitalizing an area which has been run down for a number of years.

“Parks and public spaces are often designed with children in mind, offering play equipment and benches with little or no activities or amenities for people of a mixed age range, who are also part of the community. We are aiming to change all that.”

The Ettrick Drive project beat thousands of other bidders for the cash, which is raised from the statutory 5p charge for plastic carrier bags.

Voting takes place from Saturday, February 27, for a week. There will also be a consultation event held in the park on Saturday, March 12, between 11am and 1pm, when residents will be invited to choose the equipment they prefer for the gym.

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