A new £89,000 accessible play area has opened in Stratford Park, just outside the Active Lifestyles Stroud centre.
The new sustainable area is part of Stroud District Council’s ongoing commitment to create accessible and inclusive public spaces for the community. The play area includes accessible, sensory-friendly elements, tactile panels, and interactive play equipment that caters to children with a range of abilities and needs.
Head of Communities, Ange Gillingham, says the vision is to make the park and centre a place for all: “We are thrilled to unveil this latest addition to Stratford Park. This play area is designed to ensure that all children, regardless of ability, can enjoy, benefit and learn through outdoor play. We are aiming to foster inclusion and provide families with a safe, welcoming space to enjoy together.
“It is the next step on our journey to making Stratford Park, Active Lifestyles Stroud and the Museum in the Park a place where people want to come and spend time with family and friends.”
The new play area features a variety of specially designed equipment built by Kompan, a global leader in playground manufacturing and is the first park in the country to host a completely recycled floor called “sneaker grind” safety surfacing.
Thomas Griffiths, Kompan Area Manager, says they’ve worked hard over the years to ensure their products are as sustainable as possible: “Most of the new play area here is made from 95% post-consumer recycled materials – that’s things like ocean waste, used textiles, used plastic bag. The coloured panels on the main play equipment, for example, have been made from used corporate fishing nets which historically have just been discarded into our oceans.”
