More than £44,000 is to be spent on improving a children’s play area in the borough.

New swings, a zipwire and a roundabout will be put in at Buffery Park while some of the existing play equipment and fencing will be retained and refurbished.

The total cost of the project is £44,312. Of that, £30,000 has come from environmental charity the Enovert Trust; £7,000 from the Friends of Buffery Park and just over £7,000 from council coffers. Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for public realm, said:

"The equipment at Buffery Park is in urgent need of upgrading and I welcome this investment. The active friends group at the park has actively been pushing for improvements to this play area, particularly so there are things to do for older children.

"They have contributed a good sum of their own money towards it, and as a listening council we are happy to push this forward and make up the difference so it can go ahead.

"Our parks and play areas are a great free way of helping children stay active and these improvements will be beneficial to the whole community in and around Buffery Park."

It is due to be mentioned at a meeting of Dudley Council’s ruling cabinet on Thursday and comes as the Friends group celebrates its 20th anniversary.