CHILDREN and teenagers at North Walsham are all set to see £45,000 of new activity equipment in place in time for the summer.The boost at the Memorial Park has been hailed as a significant achievement for the “poor relation” town, where a lack of facilities for youngsters has been a talking point.

CHILDREN and teenagers at North Walsham are all set to see £45,000 of new activity equipment in place in time for the summer.

The boost at the Memorial Park has been hailed as a significant achievement for the “poor relation” town, where a lack of facilities for youngsters has been a talking point.

The town council is poised to place orders for pieces of equipment which gained most votes among older pupils, up to the age of 16, at Manor Road Junior, Millfield Primary and North Walsham High schools.

They include a fixture simulating surfing action, another allowing users to glide along curved rails standing on a fixed board, a shelter where youngsters can sit and talk, a roundabout with a seat and a swing suitable for use by able-bodied children and those with disabilities.

New items will be installed behind the park pavilion, in addition to the play equipment already there. The investment includes £15,000 from Anglian Water, given last summer to say sorry for a

10-day drinking-water ban in the town after a contamination scare in June.

The remaining £30,000 was secured by the town council with regeneration group the Griffon Area Partnership, which put in a bid to an East of England Development Agency (EEDA) fund.

Mayor Ted Gadsden is looking forward to seeing the park become a more attractive focal point for younger residents. He said: “In many ways North Walsham is deprived: it is treated as the poor relation. We needed and deserved this injection of capital.”

Anglan Water spokeswoman Collette Nicholls said the company was delighted that its money was being put towards benefiting young people.