There are have been celebrations in Flushing after plans to upgrade the play facilities on the Bowling Green received a huge boost, thanks to a £10,350 grant from Cornwall Council.

The Friends of Flushing Bowling Green Park submitted application for funding from the council’s Section 106 pot, the money of which came from the development at Little Falmouth in the village, and were delighted to learn they had been successful.

Rachael Pashley, chairman of the friends, said: “This is a good start. It gives people confidence in the project, to see we have the council backing even though the site is not council owned.

“It is the good positive boost that we need and we are now planning our next fundraisers.

“We are hoping to generate in the region of £80,000 and be fully up and running within two years. We will be trying to secure as much funding as we can in the first year and get the ball rolling at the park the following year.”

The group of mothers and other residents aims to revamp the Bowling Green and update the existing play equipment. The pirate ship has been very popular but it is starting to get a bit tired now,” said Rachael.

“We want to replace it with something on a similar theme – pirates or nautical – and want to get as much equipment on there as we can.

“We want to make it a space which caters for all and want to make it as inclusive as possible.

“We are also looking at new signage, new seating and are hoping to work alongside the plans for the pavilion.”

The group has been consulting with park users to see what they’d like to see and hope to work with local artists to produce “some interesting pieces” for the site.

Rachael added: “It is very early days. We had a fundraising event a few weeks ago to engage with the community – we are conscious it’s a community project so we want to get as much involvement as possible with the design and make sure everybody has a say on what goes in there.”