Winning design for £370,000 Shrewsbury Quarry play area

Shrewsbury Town Council agreed to press ahead with plans for the "Darwin's Islands of Adventure" design to replace the existing Quarry play area, following its meeting on Monday evening.

The design incorporates traditional play equipment such as slides and swings, as well as fountains and water features in a "splash park", which will be built in place of the paddling pool.

Councillor Alan Mosley, leader of the council, said: "This is a really exciting scheme which the public have already shown great interest in. The town council is proud to be able to take this project forward. It will rejuvenate the area and provide tremendous new facilities for Shrewsbury residents and visitors alike.

"We have great confidence in the contractor we have chosen and now hope for rapid progress on acquiring a lease for the paddling pool land from Shropshire Council so that work can start very soon."

Construction of the play area was expected to be completed by April next year, although issues over the ownership of the paddling pool land could delay the start of the work. Shrewsbury Mayor Miles Kenny said the council needed to come to an agreement with Shropshire Council over a lease for the land before it can start construction.

He said: "We have made our decision on which option we want but the issue we have is over land ownership. It is really frustrating because the contractor could start work this week probably and we would have it finished by next April but we are being held up by issues over land ownership."

"We have a similar issue with Monkmoor Recreation Ground which we are waiting to be resolved. We could do so much for our residents if we could just resolve these issues.

"It is with Shropshire Council, it is really frustrating and it is such a good scheme, it really is fun."

Councillor Mosley added: "There have been discussions with Shropshire about us taking over the paddling pool and at the very least we require a long-term lease on that ground so it is secure for us to sign a contract to go ahead with the building.

"We recognise there might be delays in formally transferring the freehold, but to enable us to go ahead and construct the water feature we would need a long term lease from Shropshire Council in lieu of the freehold transfer."

David Turner, Shropshire Council's Cabinet member for resources, finance and support, said the council hoped to conclude an agreement over the land shortly.

He said: "Shropshire Council continues to have productive discussions with Shrewsbury Town Council in relation to the current Quarry Paddling Pool, and we anticipate these will be concluded shortly to the benefit of both parties."