Chau Ram Park to increase by over 20 acres

Visitors to the county’s Chau Ram Park near Westminster will soon have a bigger playground. The nearly 219-acre Chauga Heights property adjoining the present park will soon become the county’s under a deal the County Council approved unanimously Tuesday. Among the possible uses county recreation staff envision for the new property are expanded areas for camping, expansion of hiking and biking trails and an interpretive center. The property, priced at $765,000, will be purchased mostly using a $550,000 grant from the S.C. Conservation Bank and Naturaland Trust. The additional $215,000 and other associated costs will come from unexpended funds in the county Parks and Recreation Department budget. The money used from the county recreation department budget will be repaid over seven years from county ATAX funds. The property will be placed into a conservation easement agreement that will ensure its protection, according to Phil Shirley, county parks and recreation director. The easement will need to be brought to the Council for separate approval. The property became available last year, Shirley said, beginning the long process that led to Tuesday’s approval. Once the closing on the property is complete, the county recreation department staff will set to work on a master plan for the whole of the expanded Chau Ram complex.