A project to install a £100,000 renovated children's play area in the gardens will go head-to-head with a Derby-based scheme on the TV show backed by The Big Lottery Fund.

To make sure Belper wins the cash we have to pick up our phones and vote on the big night later this month.

If the group's bid is successful £58,000 will be secured for new equipment and a brand new heritage-themed design at the gardens.

Amber Valley Borough Council has said it will provide the remaining £40,000.

One of the friends – Trevor Griffin – will appear on ITV Central East News on Tuesday, November 25, to present the case for Belper and will be filmed by TV crews in the gardens on November 13. He has urged the people of Belper to get ready to phone in and vote for the project.

He said: "I'm very pleased it's got this far. It shows we have got a project which is novel, imaginative and of real use to local people.

"Children are especially important and by capturing their imagination and interest at an early stage, through play, they grow up appreciating and enjoying everything that the valley has to offer. If people agree with this vision and want to benefit local children then all they need
to do is vote for our project on the 25th."

Plans for the renovation of the play area include making it more accessible for disabled children, as well as it being re-designed to reflect the history of the town and complement the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

It is part of a much larger initiative to restore the gardens, including the bandstand, the promenade, and the flower beds.

Residents can vote in support of the play area project on November 25.
The phone number to call will be on our website ww.belpernews.co.uk on the day and will appear in The Daily Mirror, and on the Big Lottery Fund website.

People can vote up to ten times from one phone and calls cost ten pence from a BT landline.