New play park opens in Sherburn after mammoth fundraising efforts by villagers

The park, which features play equipment for children of all ages, was opened by village stalwart Mr Paul Mattinson.

Fundraising for the park began in 2020 after if was decided to move the equipment to a safer location away from the cricket boundary.

After consultation with specialist play park companies, the initial target of £60,000 was set and a Herculean fundraising effort was launched.

The former village youth club donated £2,400 which was matched by Sherburn Sports Club, and a series of online raffles kept thing moving during the pandemic.

Through raffles, fundraising events and Saturday morning bacon butties the total raised was around £25,371.

Laura Mattinson and Ashley Oldroyd jump from a plane and skydive which raised £1,580 and a Co-op communities in-store fundraiser raised £3,190.85.

Local businesses Kingspan and Severfield donated £2,500 each, while Arnold Clark and Proudfoots each donated £1,000

The Sherburn duck race raised £1200 donated and Sherburn Parish Council donated £4,250.

The biggest single donation came from the National Lottery who boosted funds by an amazing £10,000.

The Great Yorkshire Maze hosted an open night for the village residents which raised £750 and Sherburn Forge donated £500 to a Christmas Carols around the village events.

AVIVA donated £500 and the family of the late Col and Nancy Hotham made a donation of £400.

In February, the local councillor donated £2,000.

The £60,000 target had been achieved.

However, after hitting the original target, the fundraising team were dismayed to discover that the initial quote of £60,000 had increased dramatically by £25,000.

They picked themselves up, increased the target and started work to ensure they delivered on the promise of a play park for the local community.

Sherburn Sports Club generously donated a further £15,000 while Kingspan donated a further £2,500, the local councillor a further £2,000 and the parish council another £600.

The final donation came from a an anonymous villager who gave £3,050.

A spokesperson for the fundraising team said: “We are truly grateful as this final donation made us reach the staggering total required to be able to complete our mission of delivering this fantastic new park.

"We can’t thank each and every person who has made this possible.

“It’s so wonderful to see and hear the joy of children playing here at the playing field.”