IT’S been far from a walk in the park, but this week the children of Selkirk will be able to swing, slide and see-saw till their hearts are content.

The town’s new £330,000 adventure park will finally open on Sunday, June 22. It has taken five years of fundraising by a small group of mums. And a further 12 months of planning and construction.

But the overhaul of the town’s rundown Pringle Park will finally be complete later this month.

Margaret Sweetnam, vice chair of the Selkirk Playpark Project, told us: “We want everyone to help us celebrate this fantastic community effort.

“We’ve raised over £330,000 since we formed the group in 2008, which is a great example of how we can all make positive changes happen when we work together.

“This beautiful new park couldn’t have been made possible without the major support - £250,000 of the Big Lottery Fund’s Community Spaces Scotland Fund, as well as £10,000 support from The Robertson Trust, £5,000 from Scottish Borders Council’s Community Grants Scheme and Landfill Communities Fund of £35,000.

“We’ve also received countless donations of money and precious time over the years from groups and individuals - they are too numerous to mention, but we want to assure them that we know who they are, and we are hugely grateful for their support.” Mrs Sweetnam along with Alison Cullen, Kerry Gentleman and Sheila Cochrane baked, walked, sold and campaigned in an effort to give their town the playpark it deserves.

And hundreds of local families got behind them.

As well as attracting major funding streams, they also obtained planning permission for the ambitious equipment and secured a 10-year lease on the land from the town’s Common Good.

Problems with the weather and vandalism led to delays during the construction phases.

And the opening date had to be moved back several times.

But that will all be forgotten on June 22 when the opening party gets into full swing.

Margaret added: “We hope that as many of the people who have supported us as possible will bring a picnic along to the park on the Sunday and try out all the fantastic new equipment, or just admire the setting.

“One of our aspirations from the start was to enhance the natural beauty of the Pringle Park, which I think everyone will agree has been achieved in spades.

“Catherine Andrews, Scottish Borders Council’s Landscape Architect, has worked with us from the beginning to take our ideas and the ideas we generated through community consultation and translate them into this fantastic design.

“We particularly want to thank her and Anthony Morris of SBC, who has worked tirelessly on site to make sure the work is completed to the highest standards.

“We also would like to thank the residents in the streets adjacent to the Pringle Park for their patience as the work has continued.” The opening of Selkirk Playpark will take place on Sunday, June 22 at 12 noon. It will be followed on Tuesday, June 24, with the Selkirk Playpark Project AGM at the County Hotel.