THE STATE-OF-THE-ART new play park at Dawlish will be officially opened in March.

Mayor of Dawlish Cllr Lisa Mayne will perform the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday March 4.

The £320,000 play park at Manor Gardens and the trail through the Lawn will open from mid February.

A spokesman for the town council said: ‘Good progress is being made with the play area at the Manor Gardens which is set to open around mid February.’ 

The official event in March will start at 2pm at the Piazza then walk along the trail to the Manor Gardens for the official opening. 

Finishing touches are being made to the scheme which has been several years in the planning.

Totem poles are positioned through the Lawn leading to the Knowle and the play park itself. 

The equipment on the Lawn includes a wooden climbing spider, a pole for measuring height which uses the equivalent heights for animals such as rhinos, lions and chimpanzees, a beehive and a pole of animal sounds. 

Once complete, the park is expected to be one of the best in Devon.

The ‘gold standard’ design was several years in the making and specifically created to be accessible and inclusive. 

The design for the park was drawn up following extensive consultation with local groups and Oakwood College in Dawlish, a specialist college for students with learning difficulties and disabilities, which provided input to make the park accessible.

It is wheelchair-friendly and includes features for the visually-impaired.