Denbighshire Housing is bucking the national trend for playground closures by investing in play areas across the county.
Working with leisure development specialists Alliance Leisure Services and equipment providers HAGS, Denbighshire has invested almost £900,000 over the last three years in upgrading and improving playgrounds across its housing estates.
Denbighshire Housing has spent more than £420,000 this year alone in renovating play areas in Ruthin, Cynwyd, Rhyl and Henllan with a variety of modern and challenging play equipment. The playgrounds include dedicated areas for children aged two to four years and for those aged four and above.
Specialist equipment has also been installed to make the playgrounds accessible for children with disabilities, along with accessible footpaths, replacement fencing and wet pour surfacing to ensure they can be used all year round.
In addition to the upgrades, a new play park has been built in Rhuallt following consultations with local people. Located in an old school field, the new development will bring play facilities to the community for the first time.
“We want to encourage children to learn through play, which is why our play areas and landscaping improvement programme has started taking shape. We have a planned programme for refurbishments as it is really important to invest in outdoor play and activities for children in safe environments. We also want well maintained and attractive places to live for our communities,” says Tony Thomas, Denbighshire’s lead member for Housing, Regulation and the Environment.
Importantly, Denbighshire Housing will inspect, monitor and repair the play areas to ensure they remain safe, clean and inviting for the future.
“Denbighshire understands the value of play and the important role it plays in the lives of children. Hundreds of playgrounds are being closed across the UK at a time of rising levels of childhood obesity. Denbighshire Housing is one of the few organisations that remains committed to safeguarding the future of its play provision and thereby the health and wellbeing of local children,” says Will Gardner, Business Development Manager, Alliance Leisure.