40 year celebration of Partington Adventure Playground Group receives £500 boost to Funds

Members of the Partington Adventure Playground Group were delighted to receive a £500 boost to their funds for an exhibition celebrating 40 years since the construction of the Partington Adventure Playground. 

Alstom and DF Energy, the companies building the nearby Carrington gas-fired power station, provided the funding to help the cost of both a celebratory event and also a travelling exhibition.

40 years ago a group of youth workers got together with the idea of creating an adventure play area at Oak Road Woods in Partington.  With the assistance of local children and adults, and lots of hammers, nails and spare wood, the group created a brand new play area for local families.  The construction of the area was catalogued by youth worker Jonathan Simmons and took around three years to create.

Partington Parish Councillor Mark Edwards, a teenager at the time was closely involved with the project.  He said: It was amazing how many people came along to help, whether they had any skills or not.  It was a real community event and our thanks have to go to the community workers that sparked the idea and pulled this all together.  A lot of the youngsters involved in the project are still local to the area, now with families of their own.

Julio Rodriguez, from DF, said: It was incredible achievement 40 years ago and I would imagine the locals felt a great sense of pride in what they provided.  We were delighted to help towards funding the 40 year reunion of those involved and look forward to visiting the exhibition.

Tony Wilson, from Alstom, added: Although the play area no longer exists, the historical recording of this fantastic event is one which is of great interest to the local residents.

The reunion takes place on 5th September with a travelling exhibition at Partington Library and other venues yet to be confirmed.  Anyone interested in visiting the exhibitions should see the dedicated Facebook page Partington memories for updates.

Ends

Photo Caption:

(left to right) Tony Wilson, Alstom Jane McNulty, Pauline Hurst and Mark Edwards Reunion Project, Julio Rodriguez, DF

Notes to the Editor

Alstom

In the UK, Alstom has built and now maintains and operates over half the countrys gas-fired power plants, including a 1,650MW plant in Nottinghamshire, a 2,160MW plant in Pembrokeshire, a 900MW plant in Devon and a 1,275MW plant in Kent.

At Carrington, Alstom is responsible for supplying, commissioning and maintaining the power generating equipment, including two gas turbines, two steam turbines and two heat recovery steam generators.

Alstom has been active in Manchester for many years. The Virgin trains that run between Manchester and London were designed and built by Alstom, who now maintain them at a dedicated depot in Longsight, employing around 300 people.

DF

DF specialises in the development of complex, integrated projects such as gas-fired power stations, industrial plants and fuel storage. The company carries out end-to-end project processes that include engineering, procurement, construction, erection, commissioning, operation and maintenance.

At Carrington, DF will be responsible for all the civil works, electrical and mechanical works and the construction and balance of the plant equipment.

Carrington Power

The new power station is being developed by Carrington Power Limited, which is owned by ESB. 

ESB is the leading Irish energy company and has operations in over 35 countries, including Ireland, the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.