Debbie Chesterman, Rosliston Forestry CentreROSLISTON Forestry Centre has been awarded more than £87,000 to improve facilities for its young disabled visitors.
The centre, in Burton Road, will also spend some of the cash, donated by Derbyshire County Council, on bringing its vandalised golf course back to life.
Rosliston has been granted £87,710 to improve facilities for overnight stays for its young disabled visitors. Money will also be spent upgrading the paddock field to include archery and laser clay shooting, buying new play equipment and improving the crazy golf
Debbie Chesterman, centre manger, said: “We are delighted We have had funds from Aiming High before which has enabled us to get disabled play equipment and install adult changing facilities which makes the centre as much more accessible place for families with disabled children. We are always making improvements and it will never be perfect but we try very hard to make the centre as accessible as possible to families with disabled guests and the feedback we get is very positive.”
Mrs Chesterman said that the money will be spent on more play equipment for the disabled as well better facilities for staying overnight. The cash will also be spent on the paddock field which holds archery and laser clay shooting, which Mrs Chesterman described as ‘just a field’. The cash will pay for a shelter and a path for wheelchairs. The golf course which is currently closed recently became the victim of vandalism and cash will also be spent on an overhaul to reopen it. Work on this is scheduled to start in March weather permitting. The money has come from the Department for Education’s capital funding to create better access to short breaks by providing new equipment, adaptations and facilities for disabled children and young people.
Leisure centres in South Derbyshire will also benefit from this rounds of grants totalling £655,000 with plans to spend £100,000 on all 24 leisure centres to allow for structural alterations and another £100,000 on providing them with gym equipment suitable for disabled children. A further £65,000 has been set aside to provide small grants that voluntary, community and independent organisations can bid for.
Councillor Barry Lewis, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for young people, said: “We all love to get out and about and thanks to this money more young people will be able to do just that.”
