Challenge

Lying alongside the River Thames in Elmbridge, upstream of Hampton Court Bridge, Hurst Meadow is a popular open space with an attractive landscape. Elmbridge Borough Council wanted to replace equipment on the existing play area at Hurst Meadow.

The council were delighted with Sovereign's idea to split the site into two distinct areas, to appeal to toddlers and children up to the age of 11. Sovereign also created bespoke water and nature themes to characterise the two areas.

Solution

Sovereign’s solution was to create two very different environments, one based on a water theme and the other based on nature.

The toddler area is inspired by the Thames, which flows alongside the play area and incorporates a water theme for the safety surface.

In the junior play area, the safety surface reflects nature and took the beautiful Surrey landscape as its inspiration.

The two distinct areas created by Sovereign include two tailor-made play structures which incorporate a range of equipment including a toddler multi-play unit, a junior multi-play unit, log swings with flat seats and wet-pour safety surfaces. 

A clear brief and imaginative design led to a trouble-free installation. Once the design was presented to the council and the proposal was accepted Sovereign installed the equipment within the month.

Outcome

Elmbridge Borough Council in Surrey now has an exciting new play area for toddlers and young children in the Hurst Meadow area.

Philip Robinson, Senior Parks Development Officer for Elmbridge Borough Council commented:

“Our qualitative and financial evaluation of the various returned submissions demonstrated that Sovereign could provide value for money by being able to cost effectively fulfill our brief.

The installation was expediently completed and successfully passed the post-installation inspection on the day. 

These improvements have made a valuable contribution to the area, and the safety surface graphics, themed to match the style of equipment, are the best we have seen so far in Elmbridge."