A rural county village has turned housing development into a positive with the creation of a stunning new children’s play area. And West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin was invited to formally open the new playground which is part of a £70,000 project to improve local recreation facilities. The money has been handed to the village as part of a fund made available thanks to local housing development. Harriett joined hundreds of local people gathered in the village to celebrate the opening and view the impressive new playground. Harriett commented: “It was a pleasure to formally open this magnificent new play area and having seen the reaction of the local children I am sure it will welcomed by everyone. “The local parish council has done an amazing job steering this project and it is great to see developers’ money being spent in such a productive and positive way. “It was also pleasing to hear the views of local people who welcomed the new housing because, as well as helping helping younger families to move into the area, the building work brings much needed investment in local facilities. “The village of Welland is clearly happy with this deal and I look forward to visiting when the next recreation facilities are completed in the near future.” Photo: Welland parish council chair Viv Nelson, Harriett Baldwin MP and parish councillor Emma Horton-Smith with seven month old daughter Amber