Work has begun on reconstructing the play park at Fowlmead Country Park.

The children’s play area is part of Hadlow College’s £110 million Betteshanger Sustainable Parks scheme, where a visitor centre, cafe and mining museum will be built.

Permission was granted in September last year to re-site and upgrade the children’s play space and this started last Monday.

Lorraine Cheesmur, general manager at Fowlmead Country Park, said: “The play park is currently being moved to a site that will be overlooked by the new restaurant.

“The ground-levelling works are complete and the playground will be open to the public again in mid-July, well before the summer holidays begin.

“We’re very grateful for our visitors’ patience while we make these changes, which have been planned to fall outside the school holidays to minimise disruption.”

The visitor centre will include a restaurant and cafe, conference area, cycle hire and biomass energy centre which is hoped will power the park.

It is all part of a £110m scheme to transform the former colliery site into a green technologies site, research and education centre, eco-visitor centre and a mining heritage museum.