A popular children’s play area within the grounds of one of Bradley Stoke Town Council’s three activity centres is to be replaced over the summer at a cost of up to £105k.
The play park at Baileys Court Activity Centre [map] has been in use for over 26 years, but council officers say the equipment has become “tired” and spare parts are becoming harder to source.
Despite its small size, the park is well used by local families, users of the activity centre and pupils attending the nearby Baileys Court Primary School, who often visit the park with younger siblings at pick-up times.
Following years of discussions, councillors have finally agreed a budget for the redevelopment of the play park, to include removal of the existing equipment, installation of new equipment and laying of safety surfacing.
A council spokesperson said:
“The project has the support of the local school, parents, visitors and the vast number of regular hirers of the activity centre. The aim is to provide the community with an exciting, valued and new play space providing regular access, and opportunity for free, inclusive local play for many children and families.”
In February 2020, play area suppliers were invited to visit the site and suggest ways of improving it with replacement equipment. Various designs were received and delivered back to the council in March 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 emergency, the council decided to temporarily halt any new projects until end of year financial data was available.
Initial quotations ranged from £75k to £90k, but as none of these included any fully inclusive (i.e. accessible-to-all) pieces, the budget was later increased to £105k, to achieve better value “in the long run”.
A formal ‘invitation to tender’ (ITT) was published on the town council website on 1st April and play area designers are currently visiting the site in advance of the tender submission deadline of 14th May.
The equipment specified includes two multi-play towers (for differing age ranges), a seesaw, swings, a roundabout and somersault bars.
The ITT calls for the work to be carried out during the school summer holidays, specifically 22nd July to 25th August; this is because the nearby primary school has an exit gate positioned within the play area.
Council officers have managed to secure two external funding sources: £30,000 from Enovert Community Trust and £14,195 from Ibstock Enovert Trust, leaving the remaining balance of up to £60,805 to be covered by the town council.
Related link: Invitation to tender (BSTC)
This article originally appeared in the May 2021 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 13). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
