YOUNG people - and older councillors! - have finally been able to make use of a refurbished play park as coronavirus restrictions continue to ease.

The newly-refurbished Memorial Park, in North Petherton, was given a makeover in 2020 by the North Petherton Playing Fields Trust.

The work, funded by grants from North Petherton Town Council, the Hinkley Point Community Fund, Viridor, Persimmon Homes, Larkfleet Homes and Sedgemoor District Council, saw new play and gym equipment, as well as a multi-sports area, upgraded at the park.

However, the various Covid-19 lockdowns had prevented members of the community from taking advantage of the new facilities, until the recent lifting of restrictions.

Now people are able to make full use of the new equipment.

And chair of the North Petherton playing Fields Charitable Trust, Cllr Linda Hyde, said residents were delighted to be able to get back to the park.

: “We are very pleased that we can now open the park so that people of all ages can enjoy the facilities.

“A number of highly committed volunteers have worked very hard to bring our plans to fruition.

“I am really grateful to them and, of course, to those organisations who helped us to fund the project.”

Town mayor, Cllr Alan Bradford, commented: “It is lovely to see people enjoying the park. Our work isn’t finished though.

“We plan to do more flower and tree planting and, in partnership with local schools, create an arts area.

“We will also be monitoring closely how things go, so that if there any issues going forward, such as car parking etc, we can take steps to deal with them, to make sure that the project is a long-term success.”