RESIDENTS are being asked their views on a bid to bring up to £3.8m investment into outdoor facilities for sport and activity.

Northumberland County Council has been selected as one of 25 organisations invited to apply to the first phase of the national PlayZone programme.

A PlayZone is a Multi-Use Games Arena (MUGA) which can be used by people of all ages.

Hexham Priory School and Eastwoods Park in Prudhoe have been earmarked as potential sites for phase one of the programme. Haltwhistle forms part of phase two.

Northumberland County Councillor Jeff Watson, cabinet member with responsibility for healthy lives, said: “We are delighted that Northumberland has been included in the early phases of this national scheme.

“We’ve had a brilliant response to the first phase of consultation and there is lots of enthusiasm for the PlayZones, but there is still time to have your say.

“This is an exciting opportunity to give more people of all ages access to safe spaces where they can socialise and keep active.

“It’s very important that it’s led by what our residents in our communities want to see and which sports and fitness activities they want to be catered for in the design.

“The survey takes just a few minutes to complete, so I hope people will share their views.”

Using investment from the Football Foundation and Sport England, the PlayZones programme works with local communities to create outstanding sports and activity spaces and tackle inequalities in participation. 

The survey closes on April 2.