LEISURE facilities in Wyre are being given a revamp under a £24,000 council programme.

The countryside, leisure and tourism committee has given the go-ahead to four specific projects aimed at improving some of the borough's most popular recreational areas.

Much of the money, £8,500 in total, is being spent on fencing off the play facilities at Riversgate, Roundtree Avenue and Farnham Way in Fleetwood to keep out dogs. Pathway resurfacing will also be carried out on public open spaces throughout the port. Following a petition from bowlers and youngsters living around North Drive in Cleveleys, councillors have approved a scheme for a five-a-side pitch. Due to a lack of facilities for some time, footballers have played on small pockets of public open space causing damage and annoying residents.

Now £5,000 has been put aside for the pitch which will also allow the existing bowling green to be fenced off.

Bowlers are also being appeased with a pledge of £5,000 to improve the Ashdell Greens in Thornton Cleveleys. The area has become run down with vandalised gates and the need for new litter bins. Those using the greens had complained to the council that the uneven state of the pathways could cause an serious fall.

Finally, the paddling pool at Cleveleys Jubilee Gardens is set to get a £5,500 revamp in the same vein as the improvements made to the pool at Marine Gardens in Fleetwood last year. This will make the cleaning process less disruptive to users and improve the quality of the water.

All four projects will come under the council's Capital New Start programme for 1999/2000.

Tom Pridmore, Wyre's countryside, leisure and tourism officer, commented: "This is great news for leisure and tourism and means that more people will be able to enjoy the improved facilities on offer in the near future."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.