children`s play areas

Community benefits of…
…children’s play areas
Foreword
Communities boosted by play areas
This booklet demonstrates,
through a series of case studies
and personal stories, just how
inspirational and beneficial
children’s play areas can be within
communities. As the stories were
being told and the information
gathered, an increasingly
interesting and colourful picture
unfolded. Each account reveals
how children’s play areas, often
unexpectedly and uniquely, have
the potential to improve the quality
of people’s lives.
Where the provision of children’s
play areas has been successfully
embraced by communities, a picture
of change in the lives of the children
and communities begins to emerge.
Julie Reed, Friends of Ealand Park
said, “Now children and families
in the community meet and chat
there. People go to the park with a
picnic and they are there for hours
which is great. It means children
are outside playing and meeting
other children and not indoors.”
Carden Park
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Antisocial behaviour is often a
negative response to play provision.
BMX rider, Mark Blaney, 16, of
Parkside, Seaham said, “People
have been asking for ages when we
would get a skate park. It’s good to
see it here now and it’s something
we will have ownership of.”
Another example is Craigmillar
Castle. Jim Galloway said, “The
site has now been adopted by the
local community, the youths have
not vandalized the site and it is
beginning to create a landmark site,
recognized as a safe and exciting
place for your people and families
to gather and play.”
Overall play taps into the rich seam
of community resourcefulness
and from a handful of case studies
illustrating the community benefits
of children’s play area, think how
strongly the story could be told if
sustained investment was available
for communities throughout the
country.
As Clive Bramble of Adur District
Council, the smallest in the
country, said, “Every time we
build a play area, we build a
community.”
Introduction
“Playgrounds often act as focal points for the community, providing a
meeting area for children and parents alike. As the number of youth clubs and
associations decreases, dismissed by a generation more concerned with the latest
technology than social interaction, the importance of playgrounds must not be
underestimated in bringing people together. They offer a place for children to play
and forge new friendships, while ensuring they remain healthy and active.”
John Croasdale
Chairman of the Association of Play Industries (API)
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Community rebuilds playground
which builds up the community
From a litter-strewn, graffiti-covered
run-down park with broken play
equipment, community energy and
focus secured £75,000 of funding and
transformed it into a popular and fully
used wonderful new park for a rural
community with few facilities.
When 11-year-old James Reed and
two friends, Ashley Cook and Emily
Stevenson, started a ‘clean up their
local park’ project they would never
have guessed that before they were 13
they would see a £75,000 communitybased playground refurbishment project
completed. Their clean-up started
as a community Lifestyle Project for
the summer holidays organised by
Humberside Police. Before long James
and friends said they wanted to do more
and have new and better play equipment
as some of the old equipment was
broken and only for younger children.
That sparked James’s mum, Julie Reed,
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and other local mums to form a not-forprofit charitable trust, ‘Friends of Ealand
Park’.
With their group set up they started
looking for funding. Within a year
they had about £11,500 - enough for
Phase I, a new and safe toddler area with
fencing and using some of the existing
equipment. Phase II, for 6-12 year olds
saw the new play equipment installed
including the activity run, swings, slide,
climbing tower, roundabout and seesaw.
That £64,000 phase was completed in
spring 2010 and in good time for the
summer holidays less than two years
after James’s first clean-up project
started. The Ealand Park Friends’ plans
for Phase III are to have a multi-use
games court area (MUGA).
Community success
Julie Reed said, “Now children and
families in the community meet and chat
there. People go to the park with a picnic
and they are there for hours which is
great. It means the children are outside
playing and meeting and not indoors.”
So popular and successful is Ealand Park
that it attracts children and families from
the neighbouring village, Crowle. On a
Friday it’s mad down there. It gets really
busy with more than 50 people at one
time. Before, you would hardly see anyone
in there. It’s incredible. The villages
of Ealand and Crowle are only about
2000 households and Ealand Park has
prompted enquires from as far as Goole
as others ask how it can be done.
“Another great thing about it being
used so much is that it has become selfpolicing so now we don’t get damage,
or litter or graffiti. So that has been a
wonderful outcome. The children and
their families, the whole community
appreciates it as ‘theirs’ – as they were
so much part of its creation.”
Happi Talk- Happy Community Result
Thanks initially to a group of mums,
local people near Carden Park, in
Hollingbury, Brighton now have new play
equipment for toddlers and children
with something for teenagers coming
next. It was only two years ago, when
they saw play equipment being removed
from their local park which was in a
sorry state, that they got together and
formed the HAPPI Group – Hollingbury
Active Parents for Park Improvements.
With the help of their local community
development worker (from a charity, the
Trust for Developing Communities) the
group contacted the council for a park
and play equipment refurb. They found
they were about twenty-eighth on the list
and would have to wait for around seven
years. At that, they decided to see what
they could do for themselves in raising
funds and getting things done. In just
two years they had achieved a successful
refurb, built a thriving community group
and started on the next community
project.
The HAPPI Group consulted people living
locally; many were mums with little
children in flats without gardens but
right next to the park. The Group talked
to children at schools. The children all did
designs and showed what they wanted –
to climb! And high! Going from strength
to strength the HAPPI group, in spring
2008, started The Hollingbury ‘Hello’
Newsletter and website
(www.hollingbury.info).
Since then the park and play equipment
are in full use. According to Gina Crees,
a local mum, a HAPPI group founder and
now its secretary, “There are always lots
of children playing there. Mums from
the flats come to the community centre
to sit and chat while watching their
small children in the toddler area. With
summer evenings people are out in the
park in the fresh air and really enjoying
being outside.”
Working with Brighton & Hove
City Council the HAPPI Group was
allocated £50,000 of Playbuilder
funding and raised another £40,000
from environmental trust Veolia. The
£90,000 paid for a toddler area near the
community centre and a big rope climber
and lots of other play equipment for
children. Not stopping there, this active
community group is already raising
funds of £10,000 for a zip-wire and other
equipment for teenagers with the help of
the local paper, The Argus.
Local community development worker,
Linda Saltwell, sees not only the benefits
of play but speaks happily of the
wider and positive impact on the local
community. “We have moved from some
260 households which were disengaged
with the park on their doorstep, to having
a very active community-led group and
400 people at the opening day - the
playground refurbishment project has
really brought people together.”
At a launch party in the park in spring
2010, only two years after
they started, 400 people came
to the opening day event.
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Local community scores goal with new ball court
following community calls for play provision
Calls from a local community triggered
a fundraising focus to renovate a tired
ball court that had been in place on
James Street since the 1960s.
Calderdale Council and the Elland &
District Partnership (EDP) identified the
need for the James Street renovation
following complaints from residents
about antisocial behaviour, litter and
rubbish, and the poor condition of the
existing play equipment that was known
locally as ‘the doss’. In response, EDP
has installed a new MUGA (Multi Use
Games Area) sympathetic to the local
environment and residents.
Community Consultation
The consultation process involved
members of the EDP arranging doorto-door visits, school surveys and open
EDP meetings. Children and young
people all stated that whilst they did not
use the current run-down ballcourt they
would use an upgraded facility. The EDP
wanted the project to build
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community spirit by involving local
children and residents in all aspects of
the redevelopment. They wanted to
provide a place for families to meet, and
for children and young people to have
fun in the heart of their community.
sound insulation system was ideal for
the area due to its close proximity to
housing, and I’m sure our planning and
environment office would fully support
the project as it meets the current
standards on sound.
What a result!
“We’ve received no complaints from the
local community throughout the whole
process highlighting just how much the
community has embraced the project.”
Joe Braithwaite, Chairman of the EDP
comments, “We’re delighted with the
new ballcourt and the response from
the local community. Just to see
children and young people of all ages
playing on it together shows how much
the community needed this.”
Mick Wilby, Playgrounds Manager from
Calderdale Council comments, “EDP
is one of the most vibrant community
groups that I work with; it really is
testament to them that the James
Street project progressed and is proving
to be so successful.
“It was clear from early on in the
tender process that the MUGA was
perfect for James Street. Its unique
Fundraising
With the support of Calderdale Council,
the EDP which includes representatives
from the police, local councillors and
local residents, was successful in
securing £50,000 from the Big Lottery
Fund through the People’s Millions
initiative. It was awarded to improve,
promote and extend the opportunities
for play and recreation for children and
young people in the area, and now the
residents of Calderdale are enjoying the
benefits of an innovative new multi-use
games area.
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Big playground community successes
in UK’s smallest district council
“Every time we build a play area, we
build a community,” said Clive Bramble
at Adur & Worthing Council.
After securing £96,000 of capital
funding in 2007, Clive Bramble at Adur
District Council turned to the local
community for their help to provide the
type of playground that kids, parents
and carers desperately needed at a
cost that the council could afford. The
smallest district council in the country,
Adur (pronounced ‘aider’) now has the
gem of a play area at Lancing Manor,
aptly named ‘Jewel In The Crown’.
Clive Bramble explained in August
2010, “Before, there were only a dozen
children a day there. Now it is 20-30
an hour and after school it is packed.
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We are looking at adding some mobile
catering because parents now make
it a family day out with picnics – even
from the far side of the district. It has
regenerated the whole community
with safe, clean, green fun and brought
people together. Even groups like the
Brownies use it, so much so that we are
looking for more funding to develop it
further.”
Community Win-Win against
Antisocial Behaviour
”Any antisocial behaviour and graffiti
have given way to a site that is now
packed from morning to night so we
are going to add even more picnic
tables. Play areas can focus people and
communities on the positives and about
doing things together and, from that,
achieve so much. If you get a good play
area with lots of children and families
using it the antisocial behaviour, the
vandalism, the graffiti all go down. Then
people have purges on dog fouling and
litter collection. If it is a good site people
in the community phone up to say what
to do to make it even better,” said Clive
Bramble.
Adur provides 20 play areas for
its 60,000 population and budget
constraints mean that only one play area
can be renewed each year. Amazingly
that means that a 20-year product
lifetime is demanded from both the
equipment and surfacing it chooses. A
tall order by anyone’s standards.
Community Spirit Ramps Up in
BMX Riders & Skateboarders
Wednesday, 4th August, 2010 saw the
official opening of the Seaham Town Park
BMX/Skateboard Park. The Mayor of
Seaham officially opened the facility and
approximately one hundred youngsters
were treated to demonstrations by
professional skaters and BMX riders.
They were then given an opportunity to
try out the park for the first time and
receive coaching from the professionals.
Skaters and BMX riders jumped at the
chance to be the first to try out the new
£130,000 skate park.
The young people of Seaham worked
alongside council officials and the skate
park designer, to create the ramps and
other features. Working in partnership
with Seaham Town Council, the designer
was also able to use the results of a
public consultation to design a skate
facility with many benefits.
“Since it opened our new BMX/skate park
has been extremely well received by the
youngsters and the whole community.
Every time I pass the park it is absolutely
teeming with 12 to 16-years-old BMX
riders and skateboarders. It is being very
well utilised. Before, we had nothing,”
said Mark Welsh, Town Clerk for Seaham
Town Council.
He explained that throughout the project
children and teens were consulted and
helped design what they wanted. From
that, the community-spirited youngsters
developed ‘ownership’ and said they
would look after their new park and
take a hand in its continued success,
keeping it clean and tidy. Partnership
working by Seaham TC and Durham CC
led to combined funding of £130,000
to achieve this wonderful facility with a
second phase of play equipment partially
dependant on Playbuilder funding.
BMX rider Mark Blaney, 16, of Parkside,
Seaham, was among those to help plan
the set-up. He commented, “People have
been asking for ages when we would get
a skate park. It’s good to see it here now
and it’s something we will have
ownership of.”
9
‘Mums’ the word at Stanstead
Abbotts Playground Group
Threatening rumours of their
1960s-equipped playground being sold
for housing caused a core group of
local mums at Stanstead Abbotts to
get together in 2002. They wanted to
improve the area for their children and
for the community. From 2006 they
raised £74,000 in just four years for a
new play area. It opened in April 2010
and is a huge success.
“There are now loads of children of all
ages playing on the playground including
teenagers coming along as well. Before,
it was little used. More dads are coming
along (to the multi-use games and goal
area), so are more parents, grandparents
and carers. It has become a community
meeting point that is absolutely thriving
and buzzing. We did not have that before
and we have an immense community
pride in what we achieved,” said Corinna
Hartwig, playground committee member
of the group who added, “Before the
playground project many of the mums
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and families did not know each other and
the two schools were very separate but
now all have much stronger ties.”
At first the core group said they would
look after the existing playground
and they repainted and revamped the
old play equipment. Then when they
started fundraising the core group made
use of their skills and abilities, other
than being parents, to become a wellorganised and professional group, so
much so that the project managed the
new site construction and equipment
installation. The Stanstead Abbotts
group raised enough for funding to buy
equipment and received huge help from
a contractor, MorganEst, which supplied
manpower and machines at no charge.
The group is also very grateful for all of
the help it received.
The community opening event was in time
for the Easter Holidays 2010. Since then
the play area has become a destination
park with visitors coming by bike along a
river path from a neighbouring town to
spend the day there.
The lifetime of the play area is seen as
well over 20 years with the thought that
some of the mums will be taking their
grandchildren to it. With a total installed
value close to £100,000 it is amazing
that this was all achieved with local
donations, fundraising, matched funding
and grants; no Playbuilder funding, but
huge energy, enthusiasm and drive by
the energised mums and the community
in Stanstead Abbotts.
Community Transformation Thanks to Noah’s Ark Soft Play
“Our indoor play area has contributed
to an amazing transformation in the
community. People meet and make
friends. The success of what we have
been doing is that where children
come and play their parents and carers
interact with each other. This also
happens intergenerationally. Some
older members become like surrogate
grandparents to the younger families.
There is a high number of young single
mums in the area, who appreciate
having a friendly person to chat to
them about any of the normal worries
children bring,” said Rev. Mark Evans.
He described himself as minister, youth
worker and soft-play centre organiser
at Belvedere & Erith Congregational
Church.
With their indoor play area and a
local college they are helping some
of the young mums, who dropped out
of education, to gain an NVQ in child
care and regain their focus. Through
their kitchen they encourage healthy
eating. Mark Evans and the community
have been able to raise funds totalling
£150,000; this has developed
progressively. Now they have some
60-80 children a day with their parents
and carers enjoying the soft play, doing
arts and crafts and enjoying healthy
snacks. As the numbers grow so does
community strength.
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Community Welcomes Modern Play
on Traditional Site in Historic Town
Connaught Park is an important
open space in Dover. Situated near
Dover Castle it overlooks the town.
Established in the 1880s, it features
many mature trees, grassed terraces,
formal flowerbeds, an aviary and a pond
– and now children’s play, 2010-style.
This park has been listed as ‘Highly
Commended’ in LGN 2010 Street
Design Award. Dover DC’s assistant
leisure services manager Emma-Jane
Allen said, “Community usage has
increased massively; we see far more
people visiting the play area. Before
renovation the old, traditional play area
attracted few local visitors. Now the
site meets the expectations of the local
community who had seen play areas
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redeveloped elsewhere in the District
and wanted the same for their local site
at Connaught Park.”
Joel Roszmann at Kent Children’s
Fund Network said, “It is now used
as a social hub where children and
families come for hours at a time and
interact and engage with each other.
Through consultation with children at
the nearby schools, we got them on
board and engaged with the rebuilding.
That has helped transform the way the
community uses the space – and much
for the better for children, parents and
the whole community.”
The play area is design to complement
existing natural surroundings and
reflect local history. A large timber
tree house with tube slide represents
Dover Castle, whilst a surrounding
palisade of vertical logs replicates its
fortifications. In the 1930s Connaught
Park was known for its teddy bear
picnics - positive community fun 80
years ago. This is celebrated within
the scheme by the inclusion of a
sandpit shaped like a teddy bear’s
head, with rubber toadstool seating as
the eyes and nose, and tufts of grass
for hair.
Landscaping has created differing
levels, mounds and embankments while
self-bound gravel pathways link most
features, to maximise access for people
of all abilities.
Craigmillar Castle Park Play Area
World’s largest single rope construction play area adopted by local community.
The new play park has been very well
received with many families with young
children using the area. Many of these
families have not been previously
seen in the park. They include some
families from minority groups that
are not regular park users. As access
to the play park is gained by walking
through Craigmillar Castle Park, these
visitors are now discovering an area
of accessible green space that had
previously been unknown to them. The
new play park has also brought people
from further afield to Craigmillar Castle
Park, due to the publicity the play park
received and the attractions of the rope
play structure.
In a recent survey of 235 young people
in Craigmillar, 68 percent said they
had used the Play Area. Of these 161
youngsters who had used it, almost all
said it was “Good” or “Very Good”.
The Castlebrae High School Ecocommittee helped in the launch of
the play area. One of the Committee
members, Mark Turnbull (12 years old),
had this to say, “The Eco Committee
had something to do with setting up
the Jubilee Play Park - something to be
proud of. Jubilee Play Park is amazing,
is really fun, and it is good to get
adventurous! The views are brilliant and
the design is nice.”
Craigmillar Castle Park (a.k.a. Jubilee
Park) cost £120,000, opened on the 14th
Nov 2008 and is now the largest single
rope construction in the world. Based
on previous experience the Edinburgh
Council recognised that by placing a
high value play item in this position, it
would be more likely to be accepted by
the local youth community.
Councillor Robert Aldridge said, “I
am delighted that Craigmillar Castle
Park Play Area was shortlisted for the
Horticulture Week Best Playscheme and
has received this recognition. The play
area which is surrounded by wonderful
scenery offers a safe and enjoyable
environment for children to play in
and a great credit must go to the staff
who work so hard to help maintain the
park and the play area to such a high
standard.”
Jim Galloway at Edinburgh Council said,
“The site has now been adopted by the
local community, the youths have not
vandalised the site and it is beginning to
create a landmark site, recognised as a
safe and exciting place for young people
and families to gather and play.”
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One example e-mail said:
Dear Sandy Town Council,
I felt that I must write to you to
congratulate & compliment you
on the recent upgrades to the
Bedford Road Rec. We spent a
lovely afternoon up there today
(Sun 7th March) enjoying all the
new facilities. We have 2 young
children (6 & 4 years) & they loved
using all the new equipment & we
(the parents) enjoyed sitting at the
tables watching them!
Well done on the choice of the new
equipment & we hope to spend a lot
more of our time at the Rec.
We are Sandy residents.
Kind regards
Community Consultation is a
Win-Win in Bedford Road, Sandy
“Something for older children,” was
the community consultation call for
Bedford Road play area when Sandy
Town Council asked, “What’s needed?”
With the £45,000 from the Playbuilder
programme and £30,000 of capital
from developers to help build local
infrastructure, there was a £75,000
budget available to meet the call to build
a play area for older children as well as
improving the younger children’s area.
Now Sandy’s 9-13 year olds are making
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full use of the new equipment installed
earlier this year once the winter weather
had cleared. Instead of dropping in for
a few minutes, children and families
now spend much more time in the
park. Jonathan Whitehurst at Sandy
Town Council, “We have had letters and
e-mails from grateful families saying
how much their children are enjoying
the new play equipment and how much
longer they all now stay there. At other
times there are schools and playgroups
there, so it is a great success.”
Polling day win for play area
As voters thronged to the Wadhurst
polling station in the pavilion at
Sparrows Green recreation ground
they saw a brand new play area.
Many have returned with children
who vote it a great success. The play
area design and equipment are the
outcome of extensive local council public
consultation by Wadhurst PC among the
local community, primary school and
1000-strong community college.
“We found out what the users wanted
which helped when applying for
funding. We were fortunate
to receive a grant of
£30,000 from Play Pathfinder
and £28,000 from a local housing
development project with the parish
council covering the remaining cost.
The result is that we have wonderful
play equipment which pulls people
in from the surrounding areas,” said
Philippa Hewes, Wadhurst Council Clerk.
“This is a well-used community site
with tennis courts and club, football
pitches with 200 junior footballers,
a trim-fitness trail and a ball-kicking
wall which has been really successful,”
she said. “One interesting outcome of
detailed consultation was the need to
cater for 11 to 13-year-olds and upwards,
the ‘tweenagers’ or pre-teenagers;
they have got to have somewhere - and
amazingly they now see ‘the rec.’ as
quite a cool place to go,” Philippa Hewes
confirmed. She added, “Our community
police officer is often there although
mostly to meet and talk to the children
and teenagers - as happily we are
relatively free of problem youths.” An
outcome helped, no doubt, by provision
of community sports and recreation
in a hub that draws people together
and even more so with such an
excellent new play area.
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Play area a huge success - brilliant
transformation - well-loved community area
Keswick’s new £180,000 children’s play
park could be a major tourist attraction
and boost the local economy by enticing
more visitors to the area and Allerdale
BC’s ‘Allerdale Outlook’ trumpets the play
area success of a Keswick parent.
monies have helped to create a flagship
play area for the area of Cumbria.
Creating inclusive play opportunities
for children of all ages and abilities, it is
fast becoming one of the most popular
destination parks in the region.
The Fitz Park project captured the
imagination of the local community, with
many volunteers working alongside the
town council to bring it to fruition. It also
benefited from a whole host of funding,
including £54,000 from the Allerdale
share of the Playbuilder scheme.
Top Cumbrian region 2010 award:
Social & Community Project of the Year
Tim Mosedale, the Keswick parent who
came up with the original idea to drive
forward the new play park, said, “It’s
absolutely fantastic. There are things
for the younger kids and for the babies
so it provides lots of variety. The stuff is
so imaginative it gives kids a different
adventure than we used to have. There’s
been a fantastic amount of support from
families to businesses and a real exciting
buzz about this.”
Rachel Graham, formerly of Keswick Area
Partnership, said, “This award is a great
way to raise the profile of Keswick as a
Allerdale Outlook added that the Fitz
Park play area features a range of
equipment for all ages, including toddlers,
juniors and teenagers. Playbuilder
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The News & Star reported on 21 June
2010: Top award for Cumbrian park and
play area.
Some extracts follow:
destination town with great facilities,
and showcase the hard work of the
community and all those involved in the
project.”
Debbie McGrath, one of the awards
organisers, said, “The Make us Smile
project stood out for the judges due to
the excellent way in which the committee
engaged with the local residents and
visitors, and also the way in which the
project addressed the lack of provision
for teenagers by including a teen zone.”
Judges also applauded the way that the
play area was promoted as not only a
recreational space for local residents, but
also as an attraction for tourists, helping
to promote the town.
Showcase Play Forest
is a Tribute to People Power
Five years ago people power was
harnessed to transform derelict council
allotments in a former West Yorkshire
mining town into a showcase play
scheme that’s attracting interest from
all over the world. Five years later the
play area and the community are going
strong.
Speaking to give an update in August
2010, Rheta Davison from the Cutsyke
Community Group said that the play
forest and play area are well used
by the local and wider community. In
summer a special needs school brings
youngsters from Wakefield to play on
the forest and have their picnic lunch.
Rheta sees people picnicking and using
the picnic benches especially in nice
weather and coming from as far as
Airedale. “Teenagers use it because it
is something different and sit on top
of the platforms and nobody bothers
them,” she said. Her grandchildren of
11, 10 and 8 use it and love it. With 600
new houses being built in Cutsyke it will
soon be even busier. Rheta confirmed
that children need play areas. “They
are essential. It is where they learn
social skills and to conquer the climbing
challenges of equipment like the
Cutsyke forest,” she said.
Back in 2005 the £220,000 Cutsyke
Play Forest was the first community
scheme to be completed as part of The
Castleford Project, a major regeneration
initiative between Channel 4, Wakefield
Metropolitan District Council and
supporting agencies. One of the keys
to the success of the play forest was
the involvement of the community, and
in particular the Cutsyke Community
Group, throughout every stage of the
public consultation, planning, design
and installation process.
Cutsyke Community Group has 20
active members, aged seven to 74.
Group spokesperson Rheta Davison is
among those who believe passionately
about the play forest and the benefits
it has brought, not just to her own
community, but to other groups in
the area as well.“Cutsyke is classed
as an area of high deprivation. Prior
to the play forest being built, kids
here had never had a structured play
environment beyond a slide and a
couple of swings,” she said.
“The impact the play forest has had on
Cutsyke village and its population of
over 1,000 has been ‘overwhelming’. To
say the old allotments had fallen into a
state of ill-repair is an understatement.
They had become a dumping ground, a
wasteland and an area which, to put it
mildly, was an absolute eyesore.
“Today, and in complete contrast, the
area is a great source of pride for many
people, for many different reasons.
What’s really heartening is to see how
the community has taken ownership of
the forest and its people are working
hard to maintain it at its very best.”
Cutsyke Community Group also
celebrated the news that it was awarded
the prestigious Duke of York Community
Initiative Award in recognition of its
‘outstanding work to support and
develop its local community’.
“It all makes all the hard work
worthwhile,” concluded Rheta.
17
Community Win-Win-Win in three South Tyneside parks
In Grange Park, Coulthard Park and
Cornthwaite Park parents and families
now take their children there more often
and for longer periods, engaging in social
activities and encouraging their children
to be active and at the same time
make new friends. These projects have
really made a huge contribution to the
communities in which they are situated.
Each site had existing play facilities but
was identified as ready for development
and rejuvenation under the Playbuilder
programme. All were complete at the
A Win-Win-Win for three
South Tyneside communities
18
end of March 2010 for just £175,000 for
all three sites.
Community Consultation
Initial consultation was undertaken by
South Tyneside Council from September
2009. It involved local residents,
community groups, local schools and
other stakeholders. Consultation feedback
showed the eagerness and excitement
at the prospect of developing these new
play areas with some great suggestions
as to what people would like to see and
do at the new sites. Based on accepted
best practice, each site now has a range
of equipment ranging from multipurpose
play towers, a variation of swings and
slides, trim trail equipment, tunnels and
hollows, mounding and landscaping, the
use of natural materials, various types of
play surfaces and much more. Although
there were a number of problems at each
site ranging from antisocial behaviour to
difficulties with access and some extreme
weather, they were overcome. That has
resulted in these communities having
high quality play facilities, which will be
enjoyed by children and adults
of all ages and abilities for
many years to come.
Community play area seven years
on, and better by the day
Local Leamington Spa resident Jan
Gilbert decided to see what she could
do to refurbish the neglected play area
her garden backed on to. The old play
equipment, which Jan grew up with, had
been removed and not replaced. The play
area had become a dumping ground and
worse with burnt-out stolen cars.
four borders with a variety of different
coloured shrubs, bushes and trees and a
sensory garden which Kingsway School
children helped plant. With a wildflower
area the maturing habitat now hosts
frogs, toads, newts, hedgehogs, bees,
butterflies and other most welcome
wildlife.
Jan raised about £75,000 mainly from
the Landfill Communities Fund, Biffaward
with the help of Kath Bannister, then part
of Warwick DC’s Old Town regeneration
team. In March 2003 the splendid newly
equipped play area opened with a big
launch party. Over the next two years
Jan raised a further £20,000. This was
for benches and landscaping a Spring
Area with daffodil bulbs, a Wildlife Area,
Today, seven years on, the Elizabeth
Road play area in Leamington Spa is in
full use by local children and families.
“They come and have picnics, parties
and birthdays,” said Jan who sees all
ages: grandparents with grandchildren,
kids on bikes, parents and carers. Some
are very local, some visiting the nearby
new Sikh Community Gurdwara (Temple),
some are groups from nearby schools.
Jan had picnic benches added and a path
to ensure easy access especially for a
wheelchair user.
Jan made sure local schools and children
were involved from the very beginning.
Many of the ideas and plans came
from the local St Patrick’s School and
planting help from Kingsway School
children. Consultation with kids and their
involvement was a key ingredient to early
success. Jan Gilbert quotes children
taking ‘ownership’ and saying “This is our
park. We put it in. Don’t mess it up.”
According to Jan, “People tend to look
after the park and take ownership of the
area. Job done! Just shows what you can
do when you put your mind to it.”
19
Fantastic Community Response
At Cholsey, near Wallingford in
Oxfordshire, a team of mums worked
incredibly hard for over three years
from the formation of the Play,
Adventure, and Recreation for Cholsey
(PARC) committee through to new
play area project completion. This
included 18 months of community
fundraising and consultation. Following
this, planning permission applications
were submitted in early 2009, followed
by grant applications. They achieved
the redevelopment of separate junior,
toddler & older children’s play areas and
a fantastic community response.
Funding
A small but important amount of
money came from local fundraising
events (£2500) and got the project
started; the remainder was provided by
various grants applied for by the PARC
committee gaining around £20,000
each from Cholsey Parish Council and
Oxfordshire District Council. Additional
partial funding was thanks to a £32,000
grant through the Landfill Communities
Fund of Waste Recycling Group (WRG)
20
administered by the environmental
body, WREN. The PARC project received
a £50,000 grant from Community
Spaces. In total the mums and everyone
involved with PARC raised £125,000.
Consultation
The PARC group consulted extensively.
They visited a huge number of groups,
including primary school classes, youth
clubs, toddler groups, beavers, cubs
and preschools and school assemblies
to discuss their needs and preferences.
More than 200 residents, adults and
children completed a questionnaire,
rating different pieces of equipment.
They canvassed at local fundraising
events and kept residents informed with
village magazine articles.
Requirements
Residents requested a separate area
for the teenagers and for the area to
blend in with the environment. The
children also wanted to keep the
existing swings in the junior area, as
these are particularly effective ones!
The teenagers wanted a zip-wire,
more swings including a basket swing
and something high and exciting to
climb. Younger children also wanted
climbing apparatus but also monkey
bars, roundabout, rockers and items to
stimulate their imagination.
Fantastic Community
Response
The play area was opened in May 2010
and there has been a fantastic response
from all sections of the community. The
children are thrilled, particularly ones
from the local primary school which
backs onto the recreation ground. They
race out of school straight to the new
equipment! The new areas are a real
asset to the village and are constantly
in use. The most popular items are the
6-metre high net pyramid, the zip wire
and the basket swing.
Katy Sims who was one of the key
project managers for this play area said,
“The new areas look stunning. They
now reflect our vibrant community and
provide the village with something it
can be proud of.”
Welsh Water Works Wonders
for Welfare Park Community Group
The Aber Valley community partnership
worked determinedly to secure funding
for their play project and were ultimately
successful in raising over £94,000
towards the new interactive water play
feature at Welfare Park, Senghenydd,
in South Wales. The funding primarily
came from a ‘People’s Millions’ National
Lottery grant. The project replaces an
existing redundant paddling pool facility
and is designed to stimulate children
of all abilities, including those with
disabilities. During school hours local
schools also book to use the area.
Natural Water Play
The community group, the Aber Valley
Communities First Partnership, used
some of its funding to drill a borehole to
supply pure mountain water to the water
play area. That saved on recycling water
treatment and once filtered the clean
used water goes into the local river.
Run by the community partnership the
water play area is open from May to
September and its popularity has had
very positive impact on the local park.
From the Partnership, Pat Bull said,
“Now the park is buzzing. Before you
would only see a couple of children in
there. Now there are lots and they are
making good use of the MUGA – a multiuse games area.”
For this community group, success
breeds success. Before their success with
their water play project they were having
no success in raising funds for a skate
park. With the area now defined as a
redevelopment area they are well on the
way to funding and building a
long-awaited skate park.
Aber Valley community group secured funding to refurbish an old paddling pool into a very popular
and successful water play area and are now inspired to do the same for a long-awaited skatepark.
21
Village play
area, a rock for
the community
When two mums with young children at
Langton Matravers pre-school in Dorset
realised they may be able to get a grant
and have a village play area, the idea
took hold. A project was born. Mostly
driven by one mum, Tracey Stone, with
a core group and help from many others
they set about fundraising. Tracey and
the group were not asked; they saw an
opportunity and they just did it, learning
as they went.
With a grant from the Purbeck
Community Partnership, Awards for
All, the local Co-op, village shops and
campsites and a private £500 donation,
the group raised £26,000. Their new
play area was completed in spring 2007
and three years later it is a village
community focal point. “It has become
a real meeting place especially for the
children to play for an hour or two after
school, and grandparents also use it with
grandchildren,” said Tracey Stone. “For
many young mums apparently idyllic
rural village life can have quite isolated
and lonely daytimes. So meeting other
mums at the play area can be hugely
important,” she said. “In this rural village
there is almost nothing else for children
of a play age and really nothing for
teenagers. That has given rise to their
request for, at least, a permanent goal
post which we hope to pay for from the
last of our funds,” said Tracey.
The children in the village enjoy having
somewhere to meet their friends.
Because the equipment attracts several
children and because they are there, they
play inventively in whatever way they
want. Before the new play equipment,
parish surveys revealed seventy-five
percent of respondents cited the need
for more play equipment.
For Tracy Stone the growth of the role
of the play area transcends play in many
ways; as a community meeting point and
with welcome ‘spin off’ developments.
At the school, parish councillors learned
from children what else they would like
to do and to see and the children heard
about how the council runs the play area.
One of the children’s suggestions was a
bench in memory of a popular departed
teacher. It was installed in July 2010.
Its two stone ends are from the local
Purbeck stone quarry which the children
visited to see being cut. “That gave the
children a really nice link with their local
community and their surroundings and
its traditional and current industry with
the finished product now in their play
area,” said Tracey.
Now it’s complete, Tracey Stone said
they all feel a huge sense of pride
and pleasure from many appreciative
comments and had great fun doing it.
That came especially from consulting
children to see what they wanted and
then generating such a lovely time and
place for children, parents and families
with a hugely enriched community.
22
Acknowledgements
Our thanks go to members, their customers and the community campaigners who have contributed to this publication.
Thanks also to Mike Heath, Media Marketing Services who conducted qualitative surveys in June and August 2010 with Local
Authorities, and the grassroots community contacts who made things happen.
Contributing API Members
eibe Play – Coulthard Park
www.eibe.co.uk
Sutcliffe Play – James Street & Cutsyke
www.sutcliffeplay.co.uk
Hand Made Places – Langton Matravers
www.handmadeplaces.co.uk
Sun Safe Play Systems – Welfare Park
www.sunsafe.co.uk
Kompan – Carden Park & Stanstead Abbotts
www.kompan.com
The Soft Brick Company – Belvedere Noah’s Arc
www.softbrick.co.uk
Matta Products (UK) – Lancing Manor, Adur
www.matta.co.uk
Wicksteed – Connaught Park
www.wicksteed.co.uk
Playdale Playgrounds – Ealand Park & Wadhurst
www.playdale.co.uk
Proludic – Fitz Park & Bedford Road, Sandy
www.proludic.com
Record RSS – Seaham BMX/Skate Park
www.recordrss.co.uk
Russell Play – Craigmillar, Scotland & Elizabeth Road Park
www.russell-leisure.co.uk
SMP (Playgrounds) – Cholsey
www.smp.co.uk
Victoria Park, community opening event
23
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installers, designers and distributors of both outdoor and indoor play equipment
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