Locals make most of newly lit park

Dusk falls on a summer’s day – in magical images that capture how a much-loved Erewash park has been transformed after dark by new lighting.

A woman is seen taking her dog for a twilight walk – while other locals ride bicycles along freshly-illuminated paths.

The scenes look to be of a rural idyll – but actually show an urban one following a £245,000 project by Erewash Borough Council.

A total of 42 new lampposts were installed in Long Eaton’s West Park thanks to £25million of “Town Deal” investment that the authority helped to clinch from the government.

It means an extra 1,215 metres of pathways have been lit up so residents can go walking, running and cycling after dark.

The new low-energy lighting completes a figure of eight pathway through the park – with two previously unlit gateways also now illuminated.

Flooding in the park after the borough’s unprecedented winter storms led to the project being delayed. Richard Ledger, chair of the Long Eaton Town Deal Board, hailed its completion as “brilliant news in every way”.

Councillor Curtis Howard, Lead Member for Town Centres, Regeneration and Planning, said: “The new lights in West Park are just one example of how the council is  cracking on with using the £25million of Town Deal investment to boost Long Eaton and its residents.

Other projects are also taking shape – with work well underway on a new small business hub. Also in the pipeline is a major upgrade of the town centre.”