New playground and dog walking area for Tyisha

A DENSELY-POPULATED area of Llanelli is getting its first playground, according to a councillor, who said she hopes more will follow.

The £100,000 scheme on Carmarthenshire Council-owned land off Ann Street will also feature an enclosed dog-walking area.

Ward councillor Suzy Curry, who represents the Tyisha ward, said she was pleased the scheme was being delivered but felt it was overdue.

“In (neighbouring) Glanymor they’ve got five or six play parks,” she said. “They should have parks, but so should we.

“Our children in Tyisha are just as important as their children.”

She said she and her ward colleague Andre McPherson had campaigned for a new playground when they ran for election in 2017.

And it was while knocking on doors that Cllr Curry said the dog-walking idea was raised.

“Quite a lot of elderly people walk their dogs and wanted somewhere safe and where they could sit down and have a chat,” she said.

“If someone had told me then that a dog park was equally as important as a children’s playground, I would have pooh-poohed it.”

Cllr Curry said she and her ward colleague lobbied various organisations for funding, with some success, after being elected. Now planning permission has been granted.

Carmarthenshire Council said the playground and dog-walking area would cost around £100,000 and that work could start in mid to late February with completion by the end of March.

The authority is also to invest £9 million in Tyisha as part of a separate project.

The aim is to create a vibrant community by delivering mixed-use housing, improving the environment, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, developing more community facilities, bringing vacant business premises back into use and providing education, training and employment opportunities.

Residents, businesses and other groups have been consulted.

Cllr McPherson said: “It is an exciting time for the residents of Tyisha with the multi- million pound regeneration project taking place.

“It follows a major consultation with the community which will give the area – including Station Road – a complete overhaul.”