Challenge

The popular Victorian park was in much need of a redeveloped play area and the City of London, who manage the park, along with the local community were keen to embrace a more natural approach to play, a departure from the existing play area which was very traditional. Unfortunately, budget limitations necessitated the phased introduction of the new play area and Landscape Architects LUC were retained to create a master plan for the new space.


Solution

Older children and teenagers are often an afterthought when creating play areas, so the park management sought to redress this by making them the focus of the first phase of the development with a series of challenging play pieces. These included an aerial runway, medium pyramid tower with slide with climbing wall and Timberwood Tangle.
The second phase was completed in April 2014 and included pieces of kit selected with children of 5 and upwards in mind, for example the thrilling Spinning Disc and the Cradle Swing and Hexagonal Swing. These pieces can also be used by younger children, in fact the Cradle Swing is great for children of all ages to play on together, from toddlers through to teenagers.
Funding is currently being sourced for the third phase, which will be specifically for younger children and will include smaller towers with rope bridges and climbing nets and more traditional toddler swings and a slide.

Outcome

Queen’s Park Manager, Richard Gentry comments:-
“The previous playground was very traditional, there were no surprises and looking at the pieces of kit, there was very little in terms of play value. This was something I was keen to address and the new play area includes equipment that offers great open-ended play opportunities. One of the best things to see is the way that children of different ages can all come together to use the equipment, this has sparked social interaction between not just the children, but the adults too. I have received so much positive feedback – now we just need to finish the final stage.”
The landscaping around the play area creates a softer play area, with planting and hedging to create a pleasant space. Although the proximity of a busy road necessitates a fence around the site, the appearance of this has been improved by the inclusion of hedges throughout. A turfed picnic lawn has also been included in the area, including mounds and hillocks, which will be a great asset during the summer holidays.
The City of London owns and manages almost 11,000 acres of historic and natural Open Space for public recreation and health.