A group of north-east parents have joined forces as they attempt to upgrade their town’s play parks.
Ellon Parks Improvement Committee (EPIC) was formed after Aberdeenshire Council removed a dilapidated set of swings from the play space at Auchterellon Park earlier this year.
Now the newly formed group want to completely replace the old swings with more inclusive equipment like an all-ability swing and a memory swing.
They believe it will cost around £15,000 to buy and install the new equipment and want people to come on board and help them apply for grants and other funding opportunities.
EPIC is a not for profit organisation made up of parents of children aged eight months right up until the later stages of primary school.
“We’re just a group of mums”
They sought out the help of the Friends of the Den group in Turriff who recently helped complete a £37,000 revamp of their local park for advice.
Shannon Button has two children and said they just want to make sure the parks are suitable for all youngsters.
The 28-year-old said: “We are just a group of mums who formed the committee. We contacted the Friends of the Den group in Turriff to help us get going.
“We are keen to add an inclusive swing for wheelchairs and a memory swing which looks like a see-saw.
“But we don’t just want to add to the parks we want to improve them as well.”
Shannon said that they hope to appeal to people to help with funding as she believes it could cost up to £15,000 to install the new equipment.
She wants people in Ellon to rally round their transformation bid and hopes their call for help is heard.
Shannon also said the group’s ambitions are not just limited to Auchterellon Park and they are hoping to revamp other north-east play parks too.
EPIC appealing for people to help them secure funding
She said: “It is going to cost £15,000 and really looking to reach out to people who know about grants.
“We don’t want to put any pressure on local businesses to help us because they’re having a tough time as it is.
“But it is very costly so we need the backing of locals and just want to raise awareness of our group.
“We want to look at different areas in Ellon. For example, Gordon Park is the main one in town and we want to replace the roundabout there with an inclusive one.
“We want to look at the parks and see what we can do. We will need the backing of people and it is very dependent on that but we are very hopeful.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “Any community group or individual seeking to make their corner of Aberdeenshire a better place is to be welcomed.
“Members of the Formartine Area Committee would consider an application for funding from the Ellon Parks Improvement Committee on its merits should they wish to apply.
“The group could also seek advice on funding opportunities from Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action and the Formartine Rural Partnership.”
Anyone interested in helping EPIC can contact them via email on ellonppcg@gmail.com