The villages of Burniston and Cloughton are in Scarborough North Yorkshire. The Village Hall and Playing Fields were bequeathed to the 2 villages and neighbouring villages in 1964, and became a registered charity in 1981. It is the heart of this rural area for weddings, christenings and other functions and events. Each year the villagers put on a splendid pantomime raising money for charity and the annual Bonfire Event is very well attended.

We have a playground for the under 10s which is very well utilised by the children from the villages who also attend Lindhead Primary School, however the facilities for the over 10s are now beyond their best and need updating.

We carried out a survey recently using social media asking what the residents of the villages felt was important for enhancing the playing fields.

As you can see provision for teenagers and accessible play for everyone are the most important areas and a Skatepark seen as very important and a Nature Trail important.

Our project harnesses all of the responses to provide playing fields for the whole community.

There are 3 phases which may run concurrently dependant upon finances.

Phase 1 - A nature trail which connects the playing fields to the 'Cinder Track' a well known cycle and walking path. The Cinder Track was the main railway line from Scarborough to Whitby from 1885 to 1965. We have negotiated with the local landowner for a trail from the play parks through 2 fields onto the Cinder Track and a loop back to the playing fields through the villages.

We are introducing tree management and some trees will need to be removed for safety however some of these will be sculpted to preserve along the route. We are working with Scarborough Conservation, Scarborough Birders and Scarborough Council to complete the development of the trail.

We will renovate 3 tennis courts where Burniston Tennis Club was hosted. These haven't been used for many years however there is a call for 2 of them to be renovated for adult and mini tennis. We aim to join the Lawn Tennis Association within 12 months of completion when we have recruited players interested in all levels of tennis. We have taken advice from a local LTA coach and Scarborough Sports Department.

The cost of this phase is around £5,000 for the Nature Trail and £25,000 for the tennis court and hut and would include secure fencing.

Phase 2 is the development of a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) on the remaining tennis court for Football, Basketball and Netball. The local primary school are keen to book this facility for 5 a side for the school and our aim would be to build teams over the following 2 years supported by volunteers.

Cost £60,000 to include CCTV, lighting and secure access system for the whole area.

Phase 3 is to build a skatepark, following advice from the Police Designing Out Crime Officer we will build the park on an open green field area of our playing fields adjacent to the playground for under 10's.

Our aim is to maintain the involvement of the youth in the design of the skatepark. There will be tree planting and seating to ensure that the space can be used by everyone.

Cost £100,000 (includes £25,000 for groundworks)

Our target of £200,000 includes £10,000 contingency.

The next stage is to share the plans with our community following Board Approval from the Trustees of Burniston & Cloughton Village Hall who will be responsible for the ongoing management of the Hall and Playing Fields. Annual inspections costs have been considered in the costs stated.