A CONTRACT worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to improve play facilities at Poole Park is being advertised.

BCP Council is searching for a company to take on the £320,000 project which is funded through the £2.7 million lottery funding granted three years ago.

It said it wants to create “an exemplar space for inclusive play” within the park to allow it to attract families from a wide area.

Funding for the project is to be taken from the Heritage Lottery Fund grant announced in 2017 for a four-year overhaul of the space.

The latest work will mainly be focused on the Westfield play area, which will receive an investment of about £220,000.

About £90,000 will be spent on the Cygnet play area while the remaining funds will be used to improve natural play provision.

The council is seeking “experienced” companies to put forward designs in the coming weeks before the contract is awarded.

“BCP Council wants to create destination play facilities that attract families from a wide area, support healthy lifestyles, enhance community use and the social value of the park, increase footfall and support secondary spend,” it said.

“The successful supplier will work closely with BCP Council to develop an overarching theme for the project that can be consulted on with park users.”

It said any designs should “go beyond the play equipment” and look at how the landscape can be better used to enhance provision.

The council said it was “open” to ideas which could involve the play areas extending beyond their current boundaries.

Tree-felling is due to begin on Monday (February 24) to improve access to the park ahead of the play area improvements being carried out.

The council said it was aiming for the work to be completed before the school summer holidays but if it is not, work will be paused until September to limit disruption.