Campaign to save seaside village's facilities

Residents of a popular seaside village are calling for help to save their play park and toilet block.

A funding campaign will be launched to raise the £135,000 needed to refurbish the play area by the shore at Allonby in Cumbria - which has not seen any work done in more than 20 years.

Despite the village being a popular holiday and day trip destination, the parish council is also struggling to fund the refurbishment and operation of its 100-year-old toilet block.

Alan Jones, from the parish council, said Allonby had already lost its Seaside Award from Keep Britain Tidy because of issues with the public toilets.

"It is essential [for the award] you have accessible, clean toilets 12 months of the year," he said.

"Last year we could only keep these toilet blocks running for five to six months."

The parish council said it was unable to fund the work or access large grant funding, but it was asking people to lend their support by donating when the campaign launched or by writing in.

Councillor Nikki Wingfield said: "We would love to have people help us raise the money. We will be launching some kind of crowd funder very shortly.

"We'd be really pleased if people could write in or leave comments to say that they use the park and how important it is."

She added the play park needed a full refurbishment to improve accessibility.

"In the summer and on weekends, it's packed with children," she said.

"The last time it had a full refurbishment was back in 2001, but if you have a look around, things are starting to look a little old and a bit tired and it's not very accessible, so it's not really suitable for all children to come and play."

People can submit their letters of support to the parish council via its website.

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