Woodroad Park: Cumnock group to host family open day

Woodroad Park and Leisure Group, in conjunction with Cumnock Action Plan 2022 and beyond, have plans to bring people and the families back to the park, and upgrade the facilities on offer through time.

Once the place to be during the summer for many people, Woodroad Park has often been a place of vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

The new group is being chaired by Cumnock and New Cumnock Councillor, Neill Watts, who has been vocal about his hopes of improving the vision of Woodroad Park for a long time.

READ MORE: Cllr heading up plans to transform former community hotspot

The first step in the group's plans is organising a 'Rediscover Woodroad Park Family Funday' for Sunday, July 30.

There will be an opportunity for local groups, organisations and charities to have a Free Stall on the day to promote what they do locally, raise funds or provide some further fun activities for families.

Cllr Watts says he hopes this day can be the beginning of a revamp of one of Cumnock's assets.

Summer of Play events (Image: East Ayrshire Council)

He said: "I've been banging the drum for a while about how Woodroad Park needs some upgrading.

"The action group do so much great work in the town, so it seemed like the obvious thing to do because it means I can focus on the Woodroad side of things.

"We know things aren't going to change over night, but this is a good start.

"You'll know that the Woodroad used to be the hub of Cumnock, where people would flock to for near enough the full summer, so it would be great to get back to something like that."

Cllr Watts' plans for the park in the past included a new adventure play park, tennis and badminton courts, and a community hub.

Woodroad Park plans (Image: NQ Archive)

Although Cllr Watts said at the time that these plans would be for a 5-10-year period, he's hoping the current plans will be the catalyst towards bigger things.

He added: "What we need to do to start is get people back to using Woodroad in some capacity.

"The plans that we've got will require some sort of funding revenue eventually, so we'll need to be able to show that any funding or investment will be worth it.

"I think this first day will be a magnificent first step."

If your organisation would like to be involved on the day. and have a stall or provide an activity then you can e-mail woodroadparkandleisuregroup@gmail.com or contact them on Facebook for more details.