New accommodation for play centre

The three-storey tower blocks will accommodate 70 people each.

Five tower blocks will be refurbished as part of a £10m revamp at a children's outdoor activity centre.

Colomendy Centre at Loggerheads, Denbighshire, which was built in 1939 to house wartime evacuees from Liverpool, is being modernised.

As part of the scheme, the buildings will undergo a £600,000 makeover to provide modern accommodation.

Children from all over the UK use the centre, which now boasts its own caving system and water sports lake.

Country haven

Colomendy Centre was bought by Liverpool council in 1957 to act as a country haven for city children, although it is now leased by a private firm.

The authority approved the activity centre's modernisation in 2005 and have paid for the project, helped by the Big Lottery Fund.

So far, the centre's caving centre and water sports lake have been created, as well as climbing towers and a zip-wire.

Barracks-style huts have already been upgraded at a cost of £1.1m and once finished, the modernised three-storey blocks will accommodate 70 people each.

James Carroll, whose construction firm is developing the towers, said the company had to get everything ready by the time the next group of children are due to stay.

He added: "It is a race against time to get everything ready for February but we are confident we have the right people to do it."

The centre is now operated by Norwich-based activity break operators Kingswood, on a 30-year lease.