Birkmyre play park extension. From left, councillors Stephen McCabe, Chris Curley, David Wilson, and Michael McCormick

An extension to a Kilmacolm play park is complete as part of an £86,000 package of improvements to a local beauty spot.

The facility at Birkmyre Park in the village has been expanded and now includes a variety of new and accessible equipment for children of all abilities.

Work on the play area is part of a project to enhance the park by Inverclyde Council based on feedback from residents.

In addition to the play park extension, additional seating and picnic tables have been installed around the park, as well as wildflower displays and the planting of more trees.

Disabled access picnic benches will also soon be installed in the area.

The play park reopened following the completion of the extension works this week.

The council is spending £86k on the various works.

Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council’s convener of environment and regeneration, said: “This is a welcome addition to the existing play area here at Birkmyre Park.

“We know how beneficial it is to get outdoors for our health and wellbeing and I expect the extension of the play park will encourage many more young people and their families to visit the park.

“As a council, we have invested significantly in play parks right across Inverclyde in recent years and the work here in Kilmacolm is the latest project to be completed, following on from the likes of Coronation Park in Port Glasgow and Lunderston Bay near Gourock.

“We have so many fantastic outdoor spaces across Inverclyde for residents and visitors alike to discover so I’m sure we’ll see many more smiling faces enjoying the facilities here at Birkmyre and at our other new and refurbished play parks in the coming weeks and months, especially with the better weather and school holidays.”

Works at Birkmyre Park are on the back of an outdoor spaces consultation carried out by the council to seek people’s views on potential improvements for the area.

Almost 300 responses were submitted and helped influence the improvements that are being made.

The consultation ran in November 2022 with a budget of £65,000 for a variety of works.

The remainder of the total budget for Birkmyre is from other council funds set aside for park improvements.