Derby park’s new playground is officially open
Published: 3 August 2023
The playground at South Avenue Park in Spondon
A new children’s play area has opened in a Derby park. A range of new children’s play equipment has been installed at South Avenue Park in Spondon.
Derby Parks has worked in partnership with Friends of Spondon Parks to improve what had become a dated and tired play area. The local community was involved in the design of the new facility, with a public consultation carried out by the Friends group and schoolchildren asked about what they wanted to see there.
The new play area features various types of swings, an accessible roundabout, a seesaw, springer, spinning bowl and play panels. There are also two multi-play units aimed at different ages and abilities, with slides, overhead bars and bridges, plus a doube zipwire.
A new tarmac footpath coming from the recently installed gate provides an accessible route to the play area. Two poppies have also been included in the design to acknowledge South Avenue Park’s status as a war memorial for Spondon.
The play area was completed in time for the start of the school summer holidays. It has now been officially opened with a community celebration event which took place during Love Parks Week 2023. The annual campaign celebrates parks, green spaces, and the dedicated volunteers and workers that look after them all year round.
Councillor Hardyal Dhindsa, Cabinet Member for Communities and Streetpride (L), and Deputy Mayor of Derby, Councillor Ged Potter, open the play area
Councillor Hardyal Dhindsa, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Streetpride, attended the celebration event. He said:
The former play area was no longer fit for purpose and the equipment that is now in place is a fantastic addition to the park. The Council has worked closely with the local community to bring this project to life and I’d like to congratulate the Friends of Spondon Park on what they’ve achieved.
It’s wonderful to see the play area open and being enjoyed by so many local families.
The £115,000 cost of the play area was funded by Section 106 contributions and £15,000 raised by Friends of Spondon Parks. This came through donations from the Asda Foundation, the Co-op and Spondon Relief in Need. Local schools and nurseries also took part in community fundraising.
Christian Hadfield, chairperson of Friends of Spondon Parks, said:
A new play area for South Avenue Park was one of the first projects we launched after our group of volunteers formed in 2020. The new play area is one of the best in the city, right at the centre of Spondon.
We’ve had great support from local businesses, schools and charities and would like to say a big thank you to everyone in the community who has supported the fundraising. We also want to thank our volunteers, who have worked hard to drive this project, and the city council’s parks team for supporting the project.