Streethay Play Park
Awarded: £75,000
Region: Central
Streethay is a village in the Lichfield district with its own character and identity and the feel of a village community. The local play park was established approximately 25 years ago and has play equipment for children from toddlers to teenagers, which had come to the end of its life and needs to be replaced. The park is used by local children and their parents and has a family atmosphere with a communal toy box which park users add to.
A new design and new equipment
This project renewed the Streethay Play Park by removing existing play equipment and installing new equipment. The new park design also included new zoned areas for different user groups. A new toddler zone was established with new equipment including bucket scales, a play mound and tunnel, a small climbing frame, balance beam and stepping logs.
A new pathway now leads from the toddler zone to an integrated roundabout suitable for all children including wheelchair users. The path then runs to the new junior zone with climbing frame, climbing wall, balance twister, balance beam and refurbished swings. An adult gym zone was created to promote health and well-being for adults and teenagers with three pieces of outdoor gym equipment. This was installed in a fenced area to keep it separate from the children’s areas. A woodland zone was created to open up the full area of the park with four eye spy posts and a large bug hotel, bat and bird boxes were installed together with planting to attract butterflies and bees.
Community and environmental benefits
The refurbished park opened in September 2022 with an open day for the local community and was attended by over 100 people. Local people have already been engaged to support the children in a project to fill the bug hotel and observe the bugs that take up residence at the park.
The Parish Council has reported that the newly refurbished play park has helped the community with their health and well-being, as it has provided a valuable amenity for recreation, play and physical activity. They have seen that the play park is now very well used now especially after school.
“This is a fantastic upgrade to the Streethay Play Park. The new play equipment is a huge improvement and will give children and adults a much better play experience with the all-inclusive, sensory play equipment, zip wire and exercise equipment.
We are extremely grateful for the funding that HS2 Ltd has given towards the project, and we would like to thank them for this generous funding. We would also like to thank Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV), HS2’s construction partners and Groundwork UK, Streethay Parish Councillors and officers, the former Parish Clerk Assistant, the Co-Op at Fradley Sterling Centre for the donation of refreshments for the Official Opening and everyone else who has helped on this project to make it a reality.”
Cllr Harry Warburton, Streethay Parish Council.
