We asked, you said, we did

We asked

We asked for your views on the proposed new playground at Watling Park.

You said

We received 61 responses to the online questionnaire and a direct email. The key themes from the public consultation were:

• 75% of respondents liked what was proposed for the new playground.
• Request to have more benches and picnic tables.
• Request for more climbing elements in the play equipment.
• Request to cater for older children and adults.
• Request for a sand pit.

We did

The order has been placed for the new playground, and it will be installed in summer 2025.

An additional bench has been included in the design, so there will be three benches in total. The picnic table will now be a large wheelchair accessible picnic table that can seat more people.

There is a wide range of climbing equipment in the design with banister bars and a tower net, although this was not clearly visible from the images, so we have not added any more climbing equipment.

The playground is for children, so we have not added any more equipment for older people. A new outdoor gym will also be installed in Watling Park in summer 2025, which older children and adults can use.

We will not be providing a sand pit, as the council has no funding to maintain a sand pit. Sand pits require regular raking and topping up of sand. There is a sand pit at Market Place playground which was installed as a pilot project in September 2024. This is being maintained, and we are monitoring the time and cost of this work, before making any decisions on new sand features.