Children are being asked to put pen to paper and draw their dream playground as part of a proposed project at Himley Hall and Park.

Dudley Council is planning to invest £400k at the 180-acre Capability Brown landscaped site and wants input from local youngsters to help inspire the designers while the planning process is underway.

The funding, if approved, will pay for a new children’s adventure play area and a catering building, all proposed to be located near to the old tennis pavilion. The intention is for the new facility to open the facilities to parents and guardians of young children who would like to use the area more, as reflected in a recent consultation.  While all users will benefit from the convenience of the onsite takeaway café.

Councillors agreed the proposal in principle at a recent meeting. Officers are now working with South Staffs planners in the hope of progressing this exciting new play area at Himley. Formal approval from the council’s cabinet is expected at the end of February. Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, said:

"I would like to say a great big thank you to everyone who took part in the consultation as it was a great success with over 3000 respondents. The results of this survey showed that there is a desire for a playground to be built for younger children, so we decided to progress with the project.

"We would like the borough’s children to draw us a picture of what they would like to use at the play area and these pictures will be shown at an exhibition in the new year. You never know, some of the ideas may be incorporated into the plans for the project."

Children should draw their pictures on A4 paper and parents can either email, post or drop them off – whatever is most convenient – before 4pm on Friday 10 January. For more details, visit himleyhallandpark.co.uk.