WEST Kensington residents celebrated a new £75,000 play area being officially opened in their neighbourhood last week.
New borough mayor Councillor Belinda Donovan was on hand to cut the ribbon on the new playground at Vine Square, in Maystar Estate, last Wednesday (6/6).
Residents and neighbours tucked into refreshments and cake while youngsters took part in sports, crafts and community games to mark the occasion after £50,000 funding from Hammersmith and Fulham Council's Housing Estates Improvement Programme and £25,000 from the Western Riverside Environmental Fund.
The new play area encourages imaginative play through equipment including new swings, a wobble bridge and dish, climbing net, slide, boulders and a seating area.
Designed and built by Groundwork London's landscape architects, it includes a reduction in the height of the boundary wall to open up views so that the space feels safer, replacing all the fencing and removing the extensive area of hard surfacing and replacing it with grass and play mulch which is safer for children’s play.
They consulted with residents who were taken on trips to similar play areas across London to get a feel for the design and took part in design workshops and completed questionnaires about what facilities they would like to see.
It is now hoped the play area will be used to help keep children active and provide a community space for events and activities.
Moira Herring, Groundwork London community projects manager, said: “This is a fantastic new resource for the community where a previously uninspiring and unattractive space has been transformed into an exciting, green and attractive area for the whole neighbourhood to enjoy with a range of challenging equipment for children.
"It was great to have such enthusiastic community involvement throughout the project, and to now see the results on the ground based on residents’ needs.”
In 2011, Groundwork London spent £10m helping improve London's most deprived areas and took part in 850 projects across the capital.
