MORE than £40,000 of housing developer cash will be used to restore a vandalised games area.

The Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) on Green Lane, Blackburn, is in a poor state of repair and has been vandalised over the past few years.

Blackburn with Darwen Council had previously attempted asset transfer of the facility to attract external funding but were unsuccessful. But now an opportunity is available to allocate Section 106 cash provided by developers, as part of a requirement needed for planning permission.

The council has sought quotes to complete a refurbishment that allows the facility to be refurbished.

Section 106 funds of £44,933 are to be allocated to the project to allow refurbishment of the MUGA.

Executive member for environmental services, Cllr Jim Smith, said: “The Green Lane MUGA is used for informal play by children and young people in the local community.

“Regular meetings have been held with ward councillors, consistent feedback is that any type of closure would be considered as a negative outcome for the community, in particular for children and young people.

“Ward councillors and neighbourhood staff completed a consultation in the local community, the feedback was that people would not be happy to see it close and would use it more if the condition was improved.

“Two groups showed an informal interest in managing the MUGA. Following this interest, a tender exercise was completed in September 2017, unfortunately no formal interest was received and the MUGA remains in a poor state of repair.

“Unfortunately, over a number of years the facility has been subject to repeated vandalism and is now in a dangerous state of disrepair.

“There is no revenue funding allocated to maintain this facility. In order to refurbish this facility, three quotes have been obtained, one of which would allow the asset to be improved within the available budget.

“New durable fencing would be installed, removing the current kickboards, and a new hard surface would be laid in replacement of the current synthetic carpet with appropriate line marking. This would ensure that the facility is not easily vandalised.”