A successful bid for National Lottery Funding has secured £100,000 towards the regeneration of the Dell play area in Chepstow.

The funding was obtained by the volunteer group Friends of the Dell Park Chepstow, in partnership with Chepstow Town Council and Monmouthshire County Council. This means creating a new destination play park should be underway early next year.

This now brings the total raised for the new park to £225,000, with Chepstow Town Council already pledging £100,000 and £25,000 received from Monmouthshire County Council. The Town Council also contributed an additional £13,000 towards initial design fees and costs.

The new destination park will see the removal of existing outdated play equipment to make way for a modern and more natural play environment, complementing the historic port wall that runs alongside the park. Play boulders, accessible swings and a roundabout will all be installed, as well as new pathways, seating and wildlife planting.

There are plans for a castle-themed slide running down the Dell’s embankment, subject to securing an additional £70,000. The group is currently crowdfunding for this feature.

Vicky Burston-Yates, Chair of FDPC, said: “We are immensely grateful to the National Lottery for seeing the value of this project and to everyone else that has backed us along the way.

“The park will stand as a lasting legacy for Chepstow, and we take great pride in our role in bringing it to fruition. We can’t wait to see the park filled with joy and laughter for generations to come, and to see the wider benefits it will hopefully bring to our beautiful town.”

Cllr Margaret Griffiths of Chepstow Town Council said: “The Town Council is delighted that the National Lottery has recognised the need for this park and that it supports the large contribution made by the residents of Chepstow through the precept raised by Chepstow Town Council”.

To contribute to the group’s slide Crowdfunder, visit their JustGiving page: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/friendsofthedellpark. You can follow progress of the park’s development on the Friends of the Dell Park Facebook page @friendsofthedellpark.