A PRUDHOE play park that has been closed for months due to health and safety concerns could be opened before the summer holidays.

The play park at Prudhoe Waterworld has been closed since summer, after it failed a safety inspection.

Prudhoe Town Council agreed to take over the management of the Front Street park after Northumberland County Council agreed to fund a £100,000 refurbishment of the equipment.

County councillor Gordon Stewart, who represents Prudhoe South, also put in £5,000 from his small members’ schemes fund.

At the town council’s latest meeting, the council’s clerk Sarah Eden said that a target for the park’s reopening had been set.

She said: “I had a meeting with some county council officers and it was decided that removing servicable play equipment is wasteful from an environmental and monetary point of view.

“Some bits of the play equipment could still be used, but my biggest concern is the lifespan of the equipment.

“We don’t want something that only has a couple of years left. We agreed that the scheme would only keep something if it has a lifespan of more than 10 years.

“A target for completion has been set for May 22 – the summer half term, which is just over 16 weeks away.”