YOUNGSTERS in Warminster will be able to enjoy a new Out of This World splashpad in the Lake Pleasure Grounds from Easter next year.

Town councillors voted unanimously to commission the new £373,849 facility at a full council meeting on Monday.

Cllr Sue Fraser, chairman of Warminster's parks and recreation committee, said: “This is a wonderful decision for Warminster and the Lake Pleasure Grounds.

"It is a significant investment that will provide another first-class facility, free to use for the people of Warminster.

“I am really excited that the go ahead has been given to something that will delight so many people.

"We have already made so many improvements to the Lake Pleasure Grounds, for example, the new skatepark, the Pavilion Café, the outdoor gym, this is another big step forward.”

The splashpad will have 12 water features and the space-themed design includes: the Sun, the Earth, planets, stars, and a rocket.

The 12 water features are: a twin tipper, a floor tap activator, a leaping arc, a peacock, an arching water fence, a rocket blast, a post activator, a spray shooter cannon, a sea squirt and three hydro blasts.

There will a paddling pool area with a sluice gate which will allow children to open the pool area and release the water or dam the water to create the paddling area.

Work on the splashpad is due to start in September. It is expected it will be ready for use by next Easter 2022.

The water system is predicted to make a long-term revenue savings as well as reducing the environmental impact of the scheme.

Cllr Fraser added: “We had hoped to have the splashpad open by this summer but of course Covid has delayed things.”

The new facility is also forecast to increase the number of visitors to the town, which will in turn be a boost for local shops and businesses.

Cllr Fraser says it will reaffirm the Lake Pleasure Grounds as a destination for visitors and shoppers, helping to increase and maintain the vitality of the town centre.

The splashpad is being funded by a combination of money from the Community Infrastructure Levy paid by developers on new housing, The Dewey Trust and the council’s rolling capital fund

It will replace the existing paddling pool which was built in 1947 but is now sadly beyond effective repair.