Splash Park officially opens in Newbury

Youngsters from local schools the first to enjoy £85,000 addition to Victoria Park

NEWBURY'S new Splash Park proved a hit with the youngsters from local schools at the official opening this afternoon (Friday).

The newest addition to Victoria Park, featuring jets, fountains and tipping buckets, was bathed in sunshine during the noon ceremony, with children from Victoria Park Nursery School and Robert Sandilands School splashing away following the cutting of the ribbon.

The £85,000 project, overseen by Newbury Town Council and installed by Waterplay Solutions, was funded by West Berkshire Council and Greenham Common Trust.

After performing the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Newbury's new mayor Julian Swift-Hook said: "I think it's amazing.

"It's fantastic to see so many youngsters coming along to enjoy this.

"You can tell from the screams and laughter how much they are enjoying themselves.

"We have been lucky with the weather.

"It's a fantastic investment in Victoria Park for Newbury which will hopefully be enjoyed by schools and families throughout the summer.

Despite the youngsters clearly having a whale of a time, the park may not have created as much of a splash as had been hoped due to a lack of water pressure.

As a result the water jets were roughly half the size of what had been expected.

The town council says it is in discussions with Thames Water to install a new, more powerful pump in the park.

For more on the Splash Park see next week's Newbury Weekly News.