PROPOSALS for a brand new £50,000 playground in Sunnyhurst Woods have been unveiled.

Residents are now being invited to have their say on the proposals, which would see play facilities built just off the main path running through the wood.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has earmarked the woods as a site for investment after the borough was awarded £2million for adventure playgrounds earlier this year.

Questionnaires have been sent to residents asking for their views and recommendations and now a display has been set up at the Sunnyhurst Woods visitor centre.

Council bosses say the cash will improve existing areas and provide new equipment rather than help build a whole new adventure playground area.

Owl-shaped sculptures for younger children are being considered.

Six years ago a similar playground idea was agreed with the Sure Start scheme but it did not materialise because of paperwork problems.

Dennis Gillibrand, president of the Friends of Sunnyhurst Wood, said: “There has always been a need for a suitable play area for children in the woods. At the moment the facilities are poor – there are just swings by the kiosk.

“A lot of young families come into the woods and we are pleased about that, but we need to accommodate them properly.

Coun Michael Law-Riding, executive member for leisure and culture, said: "We are pleased to be working with the friends group on the play pathfinder project in Sunnyhurst Wood.

“We are inviting the young people of Darwen to come and have a look at the displays in the visitor centre and put forward their own ideas of what they would like to see. We want to make sure we get it right for the people who will use the play areas."