A PARISH council was shocked by news that its bid for play area funding had been rejected by a Government body after months of work by the local community.

A £30,000 project for three safe recreational areas for the young, as well as a meeting place for teenagers, is now in disarray at Crakehall following the decision by the Countryside Agency.

The parish council had applied for a £23,000 community service grant from the Vital Villages scheme run by the agency but was told that, following closure of the scheme to new applicants, any remaining funds had to be distributed to the most needy communities where there was a distinct lack of overall services.

The agency acknowledged that the Crakehall application was received and considered before the scheme closed and, after a local protest prompted a review, said it was now prepared to offer £3,847 towards the teenage element of the project.

The project emerged from a parish plan prepared through involvement in a community investment prospectus for Bedale and surrounding villages, and a local district councillor warned that the setback could damage the credibility of the CIP process.

Katherine O'Neil, the parish councillor co-ordinating the project, said rejection of the full grant application was particularly disappointing because the rest of the funding was in place and a contractor was ready to start work.

Mrs O'Neil said production of the parish plan had involved all sections of the local community and the play area proposals, highlighted as the greatest need, were based on the results of public meetings and questionnaires.

"Public meetings were held both for young and old, questionnaires were issued to the young to find out what they would like to see, consultants were invited to advise on sites and advice was sought from the district council.

"A team of young parents put together initial proposals which were viewed by the parish council. Amendments were made and by the beginning of this year, because of the geographical layout of Great and Little Crakehall, bisected by the busy A684, we identified the need for three different areas."

Commenting on the reason given by the agency for rejecting the full application, Mrs O'Neil said: "Crakehall is a small community in which there are no facilities at all for children other than infant and younger junior age and certainly no place for teenagers to meet other than a bus shelter.

"While we are aware of what deprivation means in inner city communities, we feel that living in a rural community, though attractive to adults, is not seen as such by young people, who envy the facilities provided in urban areas. Is this not a form of deprivation too?"

Mrs O'Neil said the offer of funding towards the teenage element of the scheme was welcome but added: "We would have been on to other sources of funding for the whole project if the agency had not strung us along."

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