Challenge

Being set in the large and popular Priory Park, the play scheme serves as a destination play area. The wider scheme also included a new pavilion with café and toilets.

During the development, it was important that the project was completed to the highest possible quality on a tight budget.

The play area includes a large quantity of Timberplay equipment, all carefully set within mounded, vegetated areas. Great emphasis was been placed on integrating the space within the wider park landscape.

The central attraction is a beached play ship, surrounded by sand and water play, which in turn is flanked by high-energy junior play equipment and an abundance of roleplay toddler equipment.

Solution

Whilst play ships are simple to build, they can be expensive because of the cost of the curved timbers that are used to make them more realistic. One of Timberplay’s bespoke equipment designers worked with Land Use Consultants to find a design that would be within the available budget.

The surrounding sand was low-cost to install, is low-cost to maintain and makes an excellent impact-absorbing surface, as well as adding considerable play value in its own right.

The water play equipment at the park has a low tech design in which the water is moved around by the children as they play. This minimised construction costs and will prevent expensive maintenance over the lifetime of the equipment. It also means that the water play is more likely to be used for large parts of the year.

Although the play space is bordered by an evergreen hedge, the designers have maintained visual continuity with the landscape by keeping the play areas path surface in similar finishes to those elsewhere in the park, and including tree planting within the play space similar to that in the surrounding park.