Over the past few weeks, I’ve been pleased to see so many people having their say about our exciting plans to upgrade and enhance the council’s play areas in Chichester.

We know that outside play areas are vital for helping our children develop physically, socially, creatively and emotionally, and so it’s important that they are in top condition.

Recently, our play areas at Parklands; Whyke Oval; the Amphitheatre; Priory Park; Florence Park; and Oaklands Park, have started to look a bit tired, and so we have been working on a major £800,000 project to refurbish and upgrade them.

Last summer, our Green Spaces team visited each site to consult with children, parents, and carers about how they use the play equipment and to find out what improvements they wanted to see. As part of this, users of Florence Park told us the equipment was largely in good condition and that it only needed a ‘light touch’ refurbishment, and so work got underway earlier this spring. I’m now pleased to say that the refurbished play area is open for children to enjoy.

In the other play areas, we gathered people’s suggestions for improvements and used these to help shape our designs for the refurbishments. Throughout March, we asked people to view and comment on the final plans as part of our ‘Let’s Talk: Play Areas’ consultation.

867 people visited the consultation, with 529 completing the survey — some of these responses represented groups or organisations. The response has been really positive with the vast majority in favour of the proposals put forward. We also received some really useful comments, and our officers have been refining a few elements of the designs to take account of these. As a result, I’m pleased to say that we’ll soon be ready to start work on the refurbishments. Work will be delivered using a phased approach so that at least two play areas will always be open, and it’s hoped that the project will be completed by the end of August.

Once refurbished, the new and improved play areas will offer an experience for a range of ages and abilities, including the opportunity to learn, interact, imagine and play together. It’s really important to us that all of the sites are open and accessible to everyone, and so our plans feature a range of inclusive play equipment. To help with this, we have worked closely with a local children’s charity, Parents and Carers Support Organisation (PACSO), and incorporated their feedback into the designs.

If you took part in the consultation, you will have noticed that our plans also include enhancing Oaklands Park so that it becomes a flagship ‘destination’ play area! To help deliver this particular part of the project, we are working in partnership with Chichester City Council.

Usually larger than an average play park, a destination play area offers a unique, engaging and exciting experience for all, with a wide range of creative play equipment to entertain people for a longer period of time. This type of play area serves as a ‘day out’ for local residents as well as visitors from further afield who will travel for the bespoke experience. We believe our plans for Oaklands Park will benefit our local communities, while also acting as an attractive draw to the city for those outside the area, which will help to support the local economy.

To keep updated on this project, you can visit: www.chichester.gov.uk/latestnews; follow us on social media; or sign up to our email newsletter: www.chichester.gov.uk/newsalerts.

Our 12-strong Green Spaces team cares for and manages a range of parks; gardens; ponds; sports pitches; play areas; local nature reserves; and open spaces. To find out more, please visit: www.chichester.gov.uk/parksandgardens

Best Wishes

Cllr Mark Chilton

Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate Services and Chichester Contract Services at Chichester District Council