Council acts quickly following arson attack at play area in Norden

The new pirate ship equipment at the Caldershaw play area gutted by fire

Following the arson which left the Caldershaw Road play area destroyed over the weekend officials at Rochdale Council acted quickly to put an action plan in place.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/109370/arsonists-attack-play-area-in-norden

Local Councillor Peter Winkler said: "We are delighted to report that following discussions with the Township team from Rochdale Council, we have secured funding to fully replace the play equipment at the play area on Caldershaw Road, which was damaged by arson over the weekend.

"On behalf of all the families that use this park I would like to express our sincere thanks to the officers who have acted so quickly to assess the damage and put restoration plans in motion.

"The new play equipment will take six to eight weeks to order, manufacture and install but we will be looking closely at the design to try and make it less vulnerable to similar acts of vandalism.

"The cost of this is significant, in the region of £25,000 but we know how important this facility is to so many local families and how upset they were at the loss.

"We hope that we can make the best of a terrible situation and make the park better than ever."