Aylesbury Vale play spaces set for new look

Archived press release

Date Published: 26/02/10

More than £350,000 of improvements are to be made to play spaces in Aylesbury Vale.

AVDC is planning to upgrade five play spaces in Aylesbury and Buckingham as part of this latest round of refurbishments.

Funding for the improvements will come from a variety of different sources including the Department for Children, Families and Schools’ Playbuilder fund, the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust and developer contributions.

Play spaces in Aylesbury set for refurbishment include Haydon Hill, Simpson Place and Cottesloe Green. The council will also be installing a new play area in Meadowcroft, which will replace the existing one in Bowlers Field.

The Stratford Fields play area in Buckingham will receive £70,000 worth of work. Outdated facilities will be removed and replaced with a range of new play equipment for children of different ages and abilities.

A public consultation is underway to find out what facilities local school children would like to see at each site before any decisions are made. Residents living within 240 metres of the sites are also being invited to make comments. Work to the play spaces is expected to start this summer.

Nine local play spaces have been refurbished by AVDC over the past two years to provide a better range of equipment for both young children and teenagers, costing £770,000. Of this amount, almost 90 per cent was secured by the council from external funders.

Councillor David Thompson, Cabinet Member for Leisure, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the children and young people in our communities to enjoy some exciting new play spaces. These sites will be innovative and creative places for children to play, with an emphasis on developing challenging play opportunities for eight to 13 year olds. We hope that the new play spaces will meet the needs of local children, young people and communities and that they will be enjoyed for years to come.”

Anyone wishing to find out more information about the play area improvement programme can visit the council’s website at www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk

Alternatively, to give feedback or to contact the project team, please call 01296 585210 or email greenspaces@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk

Background information:

The 240 metre coverage is based on national guidance that states this as being an acceptable distance for children to travel to their local play space.

The new play spaces will follow the national trend of moving away from sanitised, fenced-in play spaces.