Location:
Itchen Valley Country Park
Southampton
Hampshire
Date of installation: 2011
Itchen Valley Country Park, Southampton
Overview
Itchen Valley Country Park is a 440 acre park situated on the edge of Southampton and has been managed by the Eastleigh Borough Council for 25 years. It is visited by 200,000 people every year and is used by the local community as well as by those who travel from further afield for a day out. The park accommodates a variety of uses such as dog walking, informal recreation, bird watching and ball games. The adventure play area, built in 1990, had come to the end of its life and so was in need of replacing.
It was important for the new playground to be in keeping with the rural location, incorporate elements of natural play, include challenging play equipment for toddlers through to young teens, to be inclusive and distinctive, compared to neighbouring play areas within the Borough.
Wicksteed Playscapes, which won the 10 way tender process, has provided a play area that has a balance of natural play with mounds and tunnels and exciting play equipment with swings, slides climbing rocks and timber and net structures. The site now offers a wide choice of equipment that is inclusive, gives an element of challenge and risk whilst being robust and promotes fitness and activity.
Purpose of Scheme
The new scheme aims to offer a unique play experience compared to other play sites within the Borough and establishes Itchen as a destination park. A ‘Needs Audit' and public consultation, when compiling the play strategy, showed a need for play facilities for children and young people from 5-16 years old with an emphasis on inclusivity, accessibility and challenge. This has been achieved through offering a wide range of play equipment for all abilities. Compared to its 20 year old predecessor, the new play area now offers more challenging equipment and opportunities for children to use their imagination through play, stretch their physical abilities and to interact socially.
Design Solutions
The original site was mostly one level and so tunnelled mounds were created to provide a more interesting undulating landscape on different levels. The mounds provide a view over the play area and the tunnels offer a hiding place or somewhere to just rest!
As an area of natural beauty, it was vital that the new play equipment should blend with the surrounding greenery and so a woodland palette was chosen as well as the use of natural rock and timber structures.
An existing 5 year old aerial run-way was retained in its current location and fencing around the old play area was also retained to keep dogs out of the area.
In addition to the main play area, a timber agility trail, adjacent to the ‘Go Ape' course, has been installed which runs through the woodland area, giving a real sense of adventure and challenge!
Play equipment includes:
• Pick-up sticks timber climbing structure
• Birds Nest Swing
• Admiral's Lookout - high net climbing structure
• Bespoke grassed embankment with timber safety wall and tunnels
• Embankment Slide
• Re-use of cable way
- Timber Fun ‘n' Fitness agility trail
- Timber stepping posts
• Rotaplay Fly Mobile
• Two sets of swings
• Tunnels
• Rockscape - Igneous
Reason for using various design components:
• Bark surfacing helps to minimise muddy areas forming
• Durable round timber has been used which is robust enough to withstand normal use and vandalism - something the previous play area has suffered from
• Gates have been painted bright yellow to increase their visibility
• Stone pathways offer all year round use for wheelchairs and pushchairs
• The Birds Nest Swing is ideal for use by disabled children / young adults
• The climbing rock was created on-site, using a revolutionary new building technique designed by British mountaineers. A full-size polystyrene form was carved and then transported to the park. It was reinforced with a steel mesh before being sprayed on-site with colour-impregnated concrete to a depth of 150mm. Hand carved foot and hand holds were then added. This type of rock building technique solves the logistical problem of bringing real rocks on-site and reduces logistical costs.
A dog-free grassed area next to the play scheme has benches and boulders to provide informal seating - ideal for picnics.<< back to playscape projects
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