43 years ago, in February 1974, a newspaper article in the Highland News talked about the need for a play park for the village. The piece of land mentioned in the article never did become the planned play park and a generation on Balloch still does not have a park.

A survey of desired amenities by the Village Trust in 2005 indicated a play park, youth facilities and a social centre as the three top priorities for the village, with the lack of play park being the most disliked aspect. A further survey in April 2014 indicated an overwhelmingly positive response to the proposal of a play park from residents of all ages. The results show that the majority of children in Balloch actually travel 7.1 miles to their favourite park and no children visit a park daily

So it is still true today that the people of Balloch see a play park as key to the future of the village.

Our original target was £40,000 but we've had to raise this as there are additional costs beyond installing the equipment, involved in the project. These include legal fees to get a lease, maintenance and insurance costs and we'd really like to add some benches for those not playing!

To date we have raised £28365, this is 66% of our total – two thirds of the way to our target. This has been achieved through local fundraising, donations from local businesses and grant applications. We are now looking for support to raise the remaining 44% of our target.

There will be a smaller climbing tower for toddlers and a large tower for older children. Trim trail for use by everyone and swings for all. The swings include a toddler/plain/and basket swing which can be used for children who are unable to sit in an ordinary swing. This was added to what is a fairly small design to help make the facilities as inclusive as possible. Safety surfacing throughout the park will also make it easier for less mobile children to move around.

Donation Amounts

We’ve listed some suggested donations but if the exact amount you wish to donate is not listed on this page then please visit the Donate to a park page, choose Park Fund and then type a message starting with "PlayLearnLiveinBalloch" in the Why did you want to support this park/city fund? field.

TEXT giving

You can now donate to PlayLearnLiveinBalloch project by TEXT. Just text the project code (PLLB51) plus an amount to 70070 – for example: 'PLLB51 £5' to donate £5. You can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10. If you wish to Gift Aid your donation please REPLY to the Gift Aid text.

To find out more visit the Balloch Village Trust website and Facebook page.