£30m of Funding for Play Areas
The Government today brought forward £30m of funding for play areas nationwide, and announced that Newcastle would be one of the local authorities to benefit from the move. It’s a great present for children in our city, and comes at an appropriate time of year. The new plans mean about £2.5m for Newcastle to create and improve play sites and build a new state of the art adventure playground.
There is great support for providing a greater variety of safe, child friendly areas in our community, and creating accessible and interesting spaces for children to play. The council will now be expected to consult with the local community so that people can say where they think the play areas are most needed.
This is all part of the wider Government plan to help the country through the economic downturn. A 15 month cut in VAT will help shops balance their books, and help consumers when those savings are passed on. The income tax threshold is being raised, helping every basic rate tax payer. A total of £2.5bn of capital projects for schools, housing and transport are being brought forward to help provide jobs right now. The Government is determined to keep the economy moving and keep people in work wherever possible.
We all remember the job losses which were brought to Tyneside when the recession of the 1980s was allowed to run its course. By taking action now the Government is working to make sure that we come out of this downturn sooner and stronger. It is the right thing to do, and even more so when it comes with additional benefits for our city.
