MEMBERS of Melksham Without Parish Council have been working to restore Berryfield playground for the local community.

After taking responsibility for the upkeep of the Berryfield play area from Wiltshire Council at the end of October, the team from Melksham Without have been putting the hours in to make the play area a safer and cleaner environment for the local children.

Richard Wood, chairman of the Melksham Without Parish Council, said: "We have taken over the management of the park from Wiltshire Council as it needed work doing to it. There will be an asset transfer in about three years but we wanted to fix it up otherwise it could've been a danger to the children. We carried out a deep clean, replaced the safety matting and fixed up some of the equipment. We already run the parks in Whitely and Shaw."

The work doesn’t stop there for the parish council as it will be carrying on the renovations after Christmas with the Kestrel Court play area in Bowerhill.

"We have also taken over the running of Kestrel Court. We decided to spend our precept on fixing these places up for future use. It is something that needs to be done. With the Melksham Link plans, where there will be a connection from the Kennet and Avon Canal to Melksham. If we have a fully functional and maintained park then we are more likely to be given a replacement if the works are carried out," added Mr Wood.