A WIDE range of improvements are being made to a public garden on Portland.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has been working alongside Friends of Victoria Gardens to provide new play park equipment and a new gateway.

Robert Grigsby, chairman of the Friends of Victoria Gardens, said improvements to the gardens had been ongoing for several years.

Discussing the new lower gateway, he said: “There’s going to be a new gate at the bottom in the old Victorian style. It’s ongoing but it seems to have got started again. It shouldn’t take that long to complete.

“Everything is set up. We have got the stone from Portland Stone for the columns and we have got gates from a company we use on Portland.

“There’s nothing right at the front of the gardens and that’s where the original main gate was so it seemed like a good idea to have that again as a main entrance. Now that Officers Field is gone, there’s hardly any green space in Fortuneswell.”

A birds nest swing, play tower with monkey bars, fireman’s pole, climbing net and slide are set to be installed by mid-December, depending on the weather.

Existing toddler equipment on the site will remain until the new items are ready to be installed.

Cllr Ian Bruce, brief holder for community facilities at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, said: “We have been working hard alongside the Friends of Victoria Gardens to provide improvements in Victoria Gardens."

He continued: “This is just part of a wider range of improvements within the gardens. New seats have already been installed, and work on the new lower gateway in partnership with the Friends and The Court Leet is well underway.

“The council is planning to challenge our residents to make more of our parks, open spaces and sports facilities to increase activity levels with all the attendant benefits for health, well being and improved lifestyle.

“We hope these improvements will encourage people of all ages to get out and be active.”