A POPULAR children's playground scheduled for closure has won a reprieve.

The Armoury Field play area, in Willington, was one of several identified by Wear Valley District Council for possible closure.

The authority said it could not afford to inspect and maintain its 55 playgrounds to revised British Standards requirements and needed to halve the number.

But people living near Armoury Field, in Watling Terrace, formed a pressure group to campaign against its closure and collected more than 200 signatures, which was presented to local MP Hilary Armstrong.

Willington Community Partnership, which also opposed the closure, has reached an agreement with the council to keep the playground open until the formation of a town council, which would take on the responsibility for inspection, maintenance and insurance.

Mother-of-three Anne Armstrong, a member of the pressure group, said: "We're very happy to go along with that. I have spoken to everybody who has been involved and they all say it is fine as long as we keep it as it is."

Mrs Armstrong said the pressure group would continue to meet once a month to review progress.

Brian Myers, chairman of the partnership and press officer for the Greater Willington Town Council Steering Group, said: "The Armoury Field situation is exactly the reason that Willington needs a town council."

He said: "The steering group needs as many signatures as possible in the forthcoming local referendum to establish public support for the new authority."