• Improvements at Queen's Walk
• Fitness for all at Lenton Abbey
• Spider stays in new-look Dunkirk park
• Bright future for Clifton parks
• New State of the art Skate Park

Over 30 new children's play areas

Nottingham City Council Parks and Open Spaces Team are undertaking a major project to install over 30 new state of the art children's play areas across the city over a two year period. For more details and information on opening dates/ events, click here to visit 'Over 30 New Children's Play Areas across the City' webpage.

Outdoor Gyms

There are now eight new 'green gyms' in parks across Nottingham. They are great fun and free to use and are suitable for all ages and abilities. The equipment is a mix of cardiovascular (works your heart and lungs) and toning stations which use your own body weight as the resistance to your workout, meaning you can either be gentle or push yourself that little bit further.  Click here to find out more information on Outdoor Gyms

Playful Nottingham

The Nottingham Play Partnership succeeded in gaining a grant of £894, 235 from The Big Lottery Funds Children's Play Programme.  This will deliver a portfolio of six projects to improve play opportunities across the City of Nottingham. Two of the six projects are to improve play areas in the city's parks.

Project 1 - King George V Playing Fields

Consultation is currently taking place on the Big Lottery Funded upgrade to the equipped play provision for children and young people on the existing play area on King George V Playing Fields. The area has a number of schools caring for children and young people with special needs in the area. The project will consult with the local community and work directly with these schools and their families to ensure the development meets all their needs. The project will test how all our play grounds can be more inclusive and deliver a high level of play value for all users. The project is being delivered by Nottingham City Council, Parks and Open Spaces team in partnership with the Friends of King George V Group.  The project should be completed in late 2009.

Project 2 – Heathfield Park Reborn

This project enabled installation of a new fixed Children's play area and contributed to a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) and youth shelter for teenagers. The Children's play area is part of wider park improvements which will see a new community centre and youth building installed.  The project is being delivered by Heathfield Estate Tenants & Residents Association (HETRA) Group and is supported by Nottingham City Council Parks and Open Spaces team.

City-wide play area opens at The Forest

A new £340,000 play area on The Forest Recreation Ground has been opened.  The new play area has play equipment for children of all ages. There is a toddler area, a huge pirate ship, a basket swing, sensory equipment and a large timberwood tangle climbing piece.

The play area is the largest in the city and has been created and completed in less than a year. It has been designed as a 'destination attraction' for Nottingham residents and has been funded by Nottingham City Council and the Department of Children, Schools and Families through the Play Pathfinder Scheme. It has been supported by the Partnership Council's Children's Forum who carried out consultation with local children so that their ideas and wishes could be incorporated into the site and the equipment.

The play area was designed with a loose theme of the sea and as well as the pirate ship it features turtles, a crocodile and an octopus. The new play park follows the opening of the new outdoor fitness gym on the Forest Recreation Ground in May.

Improvements at Queen's Walk

A makeover costing £115,000 is underway on the pavilion at Queen's Walk Recreation Ground in The Meadows.

The Park's club room has been demolished and replaced with one almost three times the size, including kitchen facilities. The building not only provides a home for the Bowls Club but it's a new venue for environmental education, meetings and social events. Other improvements include the ladies' changing room, toilets and disabled access. The work is being financed with £50,000 from WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental) along with funding from the City Council. Elsewhere on the park, work is being carried out to spruce up the site. A wildflower area has been created and an area of old fencing has been removed.

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Fitness for all at Lenton Abbey

Fitness equipment for people of all ages has been installed in the play area at Lenton Abbey Park as part of a £60,000 makeover. New play equipment and safety surfacing are also part of the improvements for the playground. Community group LAFFDA (Lenton Abbey Friends and Fun Day Association) have been helping with local consultations and are also involved in making the park look its best for the visit by Green Flag award judges later in the year. The playground improvements are being funded jointly by the City Council and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

Spider stays in new-look Dunkirk park

Dunkirk's Spider Park has re-opened after a £110,000 makeover. Most of the old play equipment has been replaced – but the original 'spider' climbing frame has been kept at the request of local children.

The playground and park, on Dunkirk Road, is also having new paths, bins and benches installed and there will be opportunities for local schools and other groups to help with planting on the site. The final playground design was chosen by children at Dunkirk School from a shortlist of five after consultation with local residents through Dunkirk and Lenton Partnership Forum.

The makeover is being funded with £70,000 from the City Council along with £40,000 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) as part of the City's successful 'Pathfinder' Play grant.

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Bright future for Clifton parks

Two playgrounds in Clifton have been given a new look, completing the first stage of a £750,000 year-long programme to transform the area's parks.

Play equipment has been replaced on both Breckswood Playground and on Sunninghill Playground, which has been designed with the involvement of children at Dovecote Primary and Nursery School. The £100,000 for each playground has been financed through the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Pathfinder funding and Nottingham City Council's Area 9 Committee. Work will also get underway soon on other sites in Clifton after months of consultation by the Neighbourhood Management team with local residents.

The pavilion at Clifton Playing Fields has had it's windows and doors replaced as part of £250,000 worth of improvements to make the building more user-friendly, safe and energy efficient. The site is already a sporting hub for the local community, with facilities for bowls, cricket, tennis and football, and it is planned to spend £300,000 on a skate park and other 'Big Fun' facilities for teenagers.

Work is also planned at Central Park – known as Flower Park - a traditional site with a mix of trees, grass, flowers and shrub beds. About £100,000 will be spent to improve footpaths and provide better bins and seating, and local people will be asked over the summer what other features they would like to see.

Both the projects on Clifton Playing Fields and Clifton Central Park are to be financed through the Government's New Growth Point funding and the City Council' Section 106 funding.

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New State of the art Skate Park

A new state of the art Skate Park has been built at Southglade Park, Nottingham. After consultation with local young people and schools highlighted the need for a Skate Park, Area Committees 1 and 2 contributed £170,000 towards youth provision for the local communities of Top Valley and Bestwood, enabling construction of the new Skate Park. 

It was designed by skate professionals with the help of local skate boarders and young people.  Features of the Skate Park include: bowl, flat back, ledge, rail, tear drop spine, ramps, driveway/pyramid and quarterpipe. The park has been designed to provide maximum transition around the park and between features.  The Skate Park offers facilities to skate boarders of all abilities ranging from beginners to advanced.  The park will also appeal to other wheeled sports such as roller blades and BMX's.

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