Bournemouth
Playground Strategy
2009-14
(updated January 2011)
1.
Introduction
Bournemouth has approximately 164,000 residents, it forms part of the second
largest conurbation in the South West and is predicted to grow further. The
majority of children live in the north of the borough (see fig. 1).
Figure 1: Density of population of children and young people across Bournemouth 2001
At the end of 2008 Bournemouth Borough Council owned and maintained a total of
sixty-two playgrounds within public open space, a further three playgrounds were
available for public use across the Borough owned by third sector organisations or
the private sector.
The quality, size and
popularity of public play
areas varies considerably,
from small sparsely
equipped sites such as
Chesildene Drive in
Muscliff, through to large
destination play sites such
as Redhill Park – which has
a large equipped play area,
paddling pool, café and
toilets.
Chesildene Drive – an unequipped play area
The cost of installing and maintaining public playgrounds has risen significantly over
the last 20 years for a number of reasons, including costs of raw materials, increased
safety and fencing recommendations.
All children’s play areas in Bournemouth are currently gated or fenced and
designated as dog free areas under local byelaws. Since 2003 a programme of
ensuring all equipment is surrounded by safety surfacing where appropriate to
comply with current British Standard BSEN 1176.
The state of public play areas has gained significant national attention over the past
two years both politically and within the media. The creation of the national body
Play England has resulted in the generation of a great deal of research into children’s
play, looking at best practice examples both within and outside the UK.
Most new housing development within the borough is infill, predominantly flats in
place of family housing along the coast and central area. There is shortage of family
housing, and new houses tend to have small gardens or no garden space at all.
Bournemouth recognises that parks and public open space play an important role in
providing space for active and imaginative play.
It has been recognised by the government that public play areas can contribute
significantly to quality of life for children and young people, helping to improve mental
and physical health, co-ordination and learning. As a result of this work the way we
think about and design public play areas is now changing rapidly, with more thought
being given to the spaces between play equipment and the use of a variety of natural
materials and natural spaces to create adventurous and stimulating environments for
imaginative play.
A modern naturally inspired playground in Vancouver, Canada.
Bournemouth Borough Council recognises the importance of public play areas and
how they can contribute to quality of life for children, young people, parents and
grandparents.
This strategy looks specifically at one element of a wide play agenda which is being
addressed as a whole by the current and subsequent Play Strategies for
Bournemouth and Poole.
2.
Policy Background
2.1
Nationally the government’s aims for play through it’s Play Strategy are:
a. in every residential area, there is a variety of places for play, free of charge,
supervised and unsupervised;
b. local neighbourhoods are, and feel like, safe, interesting places to play;
c. routes to children’s play space are safe and accessible for all children and young
people;
d. parks and open spaces are attractive and welcoming to children and young people,
and are well-maintained and well-used;
e. children and young people have a clear stake in public space and their play is
accepted by their neighbours;
f. children and young people behave in a way that respects other people and
property;
g. children, young people and their families take an active role in the development of
local play spaces; and
h. play places are attractive, welcoming, engaging and accessible for all local children
and young people, including disabled children, children of both genders, and
children from minority groups in the community.
2.2
Play England have been established to champion play for the government and help
to embed best practice in play development within local authorities. Two key
guidance documents they have produced are: Design for Play and Managing Risk in
Play Provision.
2.2
Bournemouth has been grant aided £1.1m of Playbuilder national funding through
the government’s Play Strategy to develop or improve 22 play areas across the
borough between April 2009 and April 2011.
2.3
Bournemouth will continue to be guided by national and international best practice
and guidance for both the design and management of risk within play provision.
2.4
Locally Bournemouth has a shared Play Strategy with Poole (Our Space Strategy,
February 2007), which shares a similar vision to the Bournemouth Plan for Children,
Young People and their Families 2006-11 – both aiming to provide children with the
best possible start in life, including giving opportunities to be healthy and have
fun.
2.5
Bournemouth has had a public playground strategy (within its Leisure Strategy) since
1996, which until 2007 broadly followed National Playing Fields Association (NPFA)
play guidelines. The Leisure Strategy includes a paper on play which sets out a
programme of playground development and maintenance based on meeting the
former recommendations for equipped play provision. The NPFA standards have
proved difficult to deliver in terms of both quantity and cost.
2.6
In developing its Green Space Strategy (2007-11) and Play Strategy (2007 jointly
with Poole) Bournemouth consulted widely on how people used public open space
and what they liked / disliked. We worked with children across all age ranges,
parents of younger children and Bournemouth Children’s Society. Work included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
An art and poetry competition (with
over 200 entries) entitled my
‘perfect green space.’
Questionnaires for parents of preschool children (47 responses)
Primary School Children (workshops,
DVD film & 208 questionnaires)
Secondary School Children (707
online questionnaires)
Disability Forum (workshops with
over 20 disabled people attending)
Ethnic/Religious Minority Groups
(workshop/questionnaires with
31responses)
Monthly visitor surveys at 15 major
parks since September 2005,
informal ‘drop-in’ surveys of parks
and play areas, and scoring audits
of over 100 parks and open spaces
across the borough.
2.7
Research recognised one of the greatest inhibitors to children playing in the park
(especially under 11’s) was that they were not going there on their own and
parents were not inclined to take them for long periods.
2.8
We concluded that each neighbourhood area of the town needed a quality park,
where children can play for longer and parents or carers might be tempted to stay
longer. These need a high quality play environment, café and toilets.
2.9
The following are adopted policies on play from the Green Space Strategy, which
will be progressed through the Playground Strategy:
PA1
An equipped play area should be developed for the Central Gardens (in
the putting green area), with seating and public access to the café facility at
the Bournemouth Tennis Centre. The Crescent Road play area could then be
closed.
PA2
Additional play opportunities should be considered in Meyrick Park,
Knyveton Gardens, Durley Chine and Springbourne.
PA3
Provide play areas linked to libraries at Winton and Springbourne,
including café and toilet facilities, to increase the appeal of a visit to either the
library or the play area, whilst creating a more supervised environment to
reduce anti-social behaviour.
PA4
Local Areas for Play should be monitored to see if provide a useful play
function.
PA5
Should Local Areas for Play be found to be of little use, consider
concentrating funds on fewer play areas, but ensure that they are better
equipped and maintained. This should form part of a review of the Playground
Strategy.
PA6
Develop further teen zones in town, separate from younger children’s
play areas.
PA7
Investigate a new adventure facility at Queen’s Park with associated
catering facilities.
3.
Current Situation
3.1
Currently the Borough has an annual playground capital budget of £50,000 for new
play equipment.
3.2
Over the last decade the borough has also collected developer contributions to
improve leisure facilities across the borough. Approximately half of this money can
be allocated to improvements to formal and informal playgrounds and related
facilities. It is predicted (based on current building levels) that a further £650,000 will
be collected for playground development from 2009 to 2014.
3.3
Between 2009 and 2011 a further £1.1m will be made available to improve
playground facilities across the Borough through national Playbuilder funding.
3.4
Sources of income for the period 2009-14 are therefore predicted as follows:
Source
Playground Improvement Fund
S106 Developer Contributions
Playbuilder Funding
Total
£250,000
£650,000
£1,100,000
£2,000,000
3.5
Currently it is estimated that a play area will – on average - require complete
refurbishment every 15 years, although maintenance will be required on all
equipment and safety surfacing during this period.
3.6
Bournemouth has two dedicated playground inspectors using an electronic
playground management system to track condition and repairs, carrying out weekly
visual inspections and quarterly physical inspections of all play equipment. Annual
insurance assessments are also carried out.
3.7
The 2003 Leisure Strategy proposed a total of 79 dedicated play sites under then old
NPFA standards comprising 23 large play areas, 41 local play areas and 15
unequipped local play areas. The borough could have a better distribution and
quality of provision with fewer sites, with an overall improvement to play
accessibility across the borough as a whole. (See in Appendix 1 – Playground
Strategy Maps 2009).
3.8
It is estimated (based on recent refurbishments and play equipment costs) that the
cost of refurbishing playgrounds is as follows:
Type of Playground
Big
Local
Small or natural play area
Cost
(thousands)
£100+
Average £31
Average £10
No of play equipment
items
8-10
4-6
0
3.9
Many playgrounds are currently in poor condition or lack ancillary facilities. A
reduction in the overall number of play areas within the town is required for
sustainable future provision; however there are gaps in quality provision across the
town that need to be addressed.
4
Policy
PL1
Following on from policies PA4 & PA5 in the Green Space Strategy the Council
will cease to develop Local Areas for Play with a budget of £3000 per site.
PL2
Play areas will be designed to suit the site in which they are to be developed or
refurbished. Generally they will fall into one of three categories, but may be a
combination of types.
4.1
The three types of play area will be:
Natural – an unequipped site with a play space designed using natural materials to
play with/on such as wood or stone.
Local – a small to medium sized equipped play area.
Big – a large play area with lots of equipment and ancillary facilities such as a café
and toilets.
The sites listed in Appendix 2 make up 59 public playgrounds across the borough
identified within the above mentioned categories. Broken down as follows:
19 Big x £100,000 = £1.9m/15 years = £127,000 per year.
36 Local x £31,000 = £1.16m/15 years = £74,500 per year
4 Natural x £10,000 = £0.04m/15 years = £2,500 per year
Total = £205,000 per year average cost.
4.2
Over the 5 years of this strategy increased investment into parks and play spaces is
required and will depend on funding from developer contributions, the Council’s
playground revenue budget, ‘Playbuilder’ national funding and potential income from
land sales (see below).
Source
Playground Improvement Fund
S106 Developer Contributions
Playbuilder Funding
Total
Minimum Cost Requirement
Shortfall
£250,000
£650,000
£1,100,000
£2,000,000
£2,420,000
£420,000
The costs above are based on a full programme of playground refurbishment or
replacement over a 15 year period, costing a total of £4.03m. With the additional
Playbuilder funding an accelerated programme has been created to refurbish 60%
of the sites (36) over the first 5 years, costing just over £2.4m.
The above-mentioned spending plan only includes costs for play facilities and does not
cover wider park facilities such as toilets and cafés. It is anticipated that the shortfall
in playground funding will be made up through grant applications and income through
potential land disposals.
4.3
A number of playground sites will be closed as they reach the end of their usable
life. These will be in areas where a new playground is being developed very locally
or that there is a very high concentration of equipped play areas.
PL3
Sites identified to close will be closed as equipment wears out, unless the land
has been identified for a new use – in which case re-usable equipment may be
used on another site.
PL4
Spaces should be made playful by design where possible through imaginative
planting and landscaping, whether they are playgrounds or spaces not
traditionally intended for play (such as local nature reserves or public gardens).
PL5
Accurate maintenance figures will be held for each playground to assist with
future budget planning.
PL6
A further review of playgrounds should be undertaken in 2012-13 looking into
usage and cost of spaces against child populations from the 2011 census.
Deficiencies and/or over supply should be investigated.
Partnership Working, Equality & Sustainability
Leisure Services will:
PL7
Investigate opportunities to deliver shared playgrounds with schools that can
be used by schools in school hours and the public outside those times.
PL8
Actively encourage other children’s or community services to make use of
redundant buildings within parks.
PL9
Work with transport planners & engineers and Sustrans to develop better
pedestrian, cycle and bus links to playgrounds to improve their accessibility to
children and families.
PL10 Seek to link play areas to other services where possible to improve the viability
of those services (e.g. linking to local libraries).
PL11 Actively engage children, young people and their parents within the design of
new playgrounds to create popular play spaces and increase local pride and
ownership.
PL12 Design playgrounds to be widely accessible and inclusive to all children and
young people.
PL13 Assess the cost of non-play items within playgrounds (such as safety surfacing,
fencing and street furniture) and aim to concentrate resources on better play
value.
PL14 Consider the environmental impact of play and safety equipment when making
choices to purchase goods. Preference should be given to more sustainable
products in terms of production and lifespan.
PL15 Manage play areas with consideration given to improving biodiversity and will
consider native species planting within them.
Appendix 1: Playground Strategy Maps 2009
Central, Westbourne &
West Cliff, Talbot &
Branksome Woods
Wards
Grafton Close
Meyrick Park
Westbourne
Close Play
Areas
Crescent
Road
Central
Gardens
Existing site
New site
Playbuilder refurbishment
Playbuilder new site
Natural play site
Alum Chine
Durley or
Middle Chine
To Close
Not adopted
Potential Land Disposals
Boscombe West, Boscombe East & West Southbourne
Wards
Existing site
New site
Elizabeth
Gardens
Playbuilder refurbishment
Playbuilder new site
Springbourne
Library Park
Natural play site
To Close
Not adopted
Churchill
Gardens
St. James’
Square
Potential Land Disposals
Knyveton
Gardens
House of
Bethany
Fisherman’s
Walk
Boscombe
Chine
Shelley
Park
Littledown & Iford, East Southbourne & Tuckton
Wards
Existing site
Woodcock
Close
New site
Littledown
Park
Playbuilder refurbishment
Sovereign
Close
Playbuilder new site
Natural play site
Beaufort
Park
Cranleigh
Road
The
Rookery
To Close
Not adopted
Potential Land Disposals
Littledown
Open
Space
Cranleigh
Road
Kings Park Ashley Road
Kings Park
- Clarence Park
Road
Riverlands
Seafield
Gardens
Clowes
Avenue
Moordown, Winton East & Queens Park Wards
Moordown
Rec.
Brassey Road
Pine Road
Fampoux
Gardens
Winton
Library
Queens Park
Existing site
New site
Playbuilder refurbishment
Winton Rec.
Playbuilder new site
Natural play site
Cyril Road
To Close
Not adopted
Potential Land Disposals
Muscliff & Strouden Wards
Wishart
Gardens
Muscliff
Park
Stratton
Road
Rownhams
Road
Epiphany
School
Chesilbourne
Grove
Chesidene
Drive
Knowlton
Gardens
Helyar Road
Cadnum Way
Townsend
Cucklington
Gardens
Sway
Gardens
Gunville
Crescent
Existing site
New site
Swansbury
Drive
Noyce
Gardens
Michelmersh
Green
Chesildene
Avenue
Playbuilder refurbishment
Playbuilder new site
Mallard Road
Crescent
Cheshire
Drive
Road
A&B
Natural play site
To Close
Not adopted
Potential Land Disposals
Strouden
Playing Fields
Bradpole
Road
Mountbatten
Gardens
Kinson North, Kinson South, Redhill & Northbourne, Wallisdown &
Winton West Wards
Pelhams
Park
Deacon
Close
2 Cunningham Crescent
Durdells
Gardens
Anchor
Road
1 Moore Avenue 2
Keeble
Estate
3 Moorside Road
4 Moore Avenue Park
5
5 Berrans Avenue
Poole
Lane
Kinson
Common
Existing site
Fairways
Estate
New site
Long Road
Playbuilder refurbishment
Paddington
Grove
6
4
Playbuilder new site
2
1
St.
George’s
Drive
6 Draper Road
Kingsleigh
Fields
3
Natural play site
To Close
Not adopted
Mandale
Road
Potential Land Disposals
Redhill
Park
Fernheath
Road
Riggs
Gardens
Webbs
Way
Canford
Avenue
Cornish
Gardens
Slades
Farm
Appendix 2: Playground Proposals (with outline dates)
Name
Central Gardens
Cornish Gardens
Cyril Rd Park
Fairways Estate
Keeble Road
Kinson Common
Littledown Open Space
Mountbatten Gardens
Poole Lane
Redhill Park
Setley Gdns/Cadnum Way
Springbourne Park
The Rookery
Ward
Central
Winton W. & Wallisdown
Queens Park
Kinson South
Kinson North
Kinson North
Littledown & Iford
Strouden
Kinson South
Redhill & Northbourne
Muscliff
E.Cliff & Springbourne
W. Southbourne
Type
Big
Natural
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
Big
Big
Local
Natural
Change
New
From Local
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Upgrade
New
New
Year
Complete 2009
Complete 2009
Complete 2009
Complete 2010
Complete 2010
Complete 2010
Complete 2010
2012-13
Complete 2011
Complete 2010
Complete 2010
Complete 2011
Complete 2009
Brassey Rd.
Churchill Gardens
Durley/Middle Chine
Knyveton Gardens
Littledown Park
Long Road
Mandale Road
Muscliff Park
Queens Park
Seafield Gardens
Townsend Park
Winton Rec
Moordown
Boscombe West
Westbourne & W.Cliff
E.Cliff & Springbourne
Littledown & Iford
Kinson North
Kinson South
Muscliff
Queens Park
E.Southbourne & Tuckton
Strouden
Winton East
Natural
Big
Natural
Local
Big
Local
Local
Big
Big
Big
Big
Big
From Local
None
New
New
None
None
None
None
New
None
New
None
Complete 2010
2010-11
2012-13
2010-11
Complete 2010
Complete 2010
2010-11
2010-11
2010-11
2010-11
2010-11
2010-11
Bradpole Road
Strouden
Big
None
2011-12
Name
Meyrick Park
Slades Farm
Turbary Common S.
Ward
Talbot & Branksome Woods
Winton W. & Wallisdown
Winton W. & Wallisdown
Type
Local
Big
Local
Change
New
None
New
Year
2011-12
2011-12
2011-12
Grafton Close
Kingsleigh
Shelley Park
Winton Library
Talbot & Branksome Woods
Redhill & Northbourne
Boscombe East
Winton East
Local
Local
Local
Local
New
New
None
New
2012-13
2012-13
2012-13
2012-13
St James’ Square
Beaufort
Kings Park (Clarence Rd)
Boscombe East
W. Southbourne
Littledown & Iford
Local or natural
Big
Local
New
New
None
2011-12
2013-14
2013-14
Alum Chine
Anchor Close
Boscombe Chine
Butchers Coppice
Chesildene Avenue
Colehill Crescent
Deacon Road
Epiphany School
Fernheath
Fisherman’s Walk
Gunville Crescent
Kings Park (Ashley Rd)
Mallard Road
Moordown Rec.
Moore Avenue
Noyce Gardens
Pelhams Park
Westbourne & W.Cliff
Kinson North
E.Cliff & Springbourne
Kinson North
Muscliff
Muscliff
Kinson North
Muscliff
Kinson South
Boscombe East
Muscliff
Littledown & Iford
Strouden
Moordown
Kinson South
Strouden
Kinson North
Big
Local
Local
Not BBC
Local
Local
Local
Local
Not BBC
Big
Local
Big
Local
Big
Big
Local
Big
None
Local
None
None
None
None
Local
None
None
Upgrade
None
None
Local
None
None
None
None
N/A
N/A
Name
Pine Road
Riggs Gardens
Riverlands
Rownhams Road
St Georges Drive
Stratton Road
Westbourne Close
Ward
Winton East
Winton W. & Wallisdown
E.Southbourne & Tuckton
Muscliff
Kinson South
Muscliff
Westbourne & W.Cliff
Type
Local
Local
Local
Local
Not BBC
Local
Local
Change
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Cheshire Drive A
Cheshire Drive B
Chesildene Drive
Cranleigh Rd
Crescent Road
Cucklington Gdns
Cunningham Cres.
Durdells Gardens
Helyar Road
House of Bethany
Michelmersh Green
Moore Avenue 2
Moorside Road
Paddington Grove
Strouden Playing Fields
Swansbury Drive
Webbs Way
Wishart Gardens
Strouden
Strouden
Muscliff
W. Southbourne
Central
Muscliff
Kinson South
Kinson North
Strouden
Boscombe West
Muscliff
Kinson South
Kinson South
Kinson South
Strouden
Strouden
Winton W. & Wallisdown
Muscliff
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Year
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A