A wheelchair play area in a popular Derry park is set to open at the end of this month, it has emerged.
The new disabled play area at Brooke Park was installed following a pressure campaign by local parents.
Plans for the new £140,000 facility were first announced last February, six months after a £6m revamp of the historic site in Rosemount was unveiled.
The new play area will include a wheelchair friendly swing, a wheelchair see-saw and carousel and a hexagonal rocking plate.
Earlier this week spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council confirmed that it is working towards an opening date of May 31 for the wheelchair play area.
“The assembly and installation of the new play equipment is complete and signed off,” said the spokesperson.
“The public will be able to access the new equipment following the completion of risk assessments, a user manual and staff training.”
Dalton Kehoe of the Brooke Park Forum welcomed the news of the imminent opening.
“This will be the first wheelchair play area in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area and it’s setting a good precedent for other parks," he said.
“Hopefully it will be the first of many.
“We are very much looking forward to the opening and the sooner the better as the good weather is coming now.
“I would like to thank independent councillor Darren O’Reilly for his help and support with this.”
Contractors Allplay Ireland Ltd completed the installation of the equipment last December but the supporting infrastructure could not be completed until the weather improved.
A user manual, risk assessment and supervision criteria for the equipment is also being developed by Council to ensure safe use of the play area when it opens to the public.
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