A RIBBON cutting ceremony attended by families marked the opening of a beautiful new play area in Didcot.

Located in the northern neighbourhood of the new Great Western Park estate, the park will provide some much-needed space for children.

The opening ceremony was hosted by the GWP consortium, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils.

They provided refreshments for adults and lollies for children as they raced around the ample green space and zipped up the new play equipment.

The play area is equipped with a state-of-the-art netted swing set, a zip-wire, and large boulders and logs for climbing.

Resident Lucy Chown said she plans to take full advantage of the new park with her three-year-old son Thomas.

"He absolutely loves it there," she said.

"It’s just a two minute walk around the corner. There’s nothing else that nearby within walking distance, everything else is at least fifteen minutes away."

She said she was particularly impressed by the park catering to a range of different ages.

"A lot of parks are more focused on the older children, so it’s nice to have a good range for the younger kids. There’s a little trampoline which you don’t often see, and a large green area to take a picnic or kick the football around if they didn’t want to use the play sets."

It was a relief for residents to finally see the park opened, as it was delayed for months due to drainage problems.

David Buckle, chief executive of Vale of the White Horse District Council, made the construction a priority and issued the completion certificate.

He said: "It’s a fantastic play area, and now it’s finally ready to open, I felt it was very important to step in and make sure Taylor Wimpey got those fences down as quickly as possible.

"It would have been a great shame to see another summer holiday go past without kids enjoying the play area.

"I can’t wait to see it all in action – I might even have a go on the zip-line myself."