Challenge

Jupiter Play was commissioned to design and construct a new play facility on the site of the Stanway Lakelands Community Centre with the primary goal of creating a long-lasting, fully inclusive play area.

The company wanted to create a space that children with special educational needs, sensory needs, and those with mobility-related issues including wheelchair users, could play and interact alongside all other children.

Solution

The design provides a journey through the space, inspired by the adjacent community centre and country park, using landscaping, surfacing and planting elements to enhance this, and integrating sensory elements to stimulate sight, touch, smell and sound.

When a project is delivered with thought and care - balancing play value, community values, an engaging aesthetic, and consideration to ongoing revenue costs - it ensures a play space’s longevity and ongoing worth to the community.

The combined expertise of Jupiter Play and Inclusive Play ensured the design was fully accessible and met the criteria for the Inclusive Play PiPA assessment.

Result

The results have been overwhelmingly positive. Local SEND schools are travelling to Stanway Community Centre to use the park, and have highlighted how impactful it has been for their students to have play provision designed specifically to meet the needs of disabled and SEND students. One wheelchair user spoke of how the accessible design had meant he was to be able to play in the park with his son for the first time.

“I can look out the top window and see children from special needs schools and children in wheelchair’s playing with local children from mainstream schools. There’s no “ism’s” there’s no judgements. We’ve managed to create a little mi-crocosm where everyone is accepted.”
– Peter Dutch, CEO of Colchester Anti-Loo Roll Brigade