A new playground is coming
We are excited to share an update about plans for a new playground in Ruskin Park.
Lambeth Council intends to award the contract to renovate the playground to Kompan Ltd after a procurement process is completed. They are a well-known playground company with a deep understanding of children’s play needs. The budget is £350,000 and will be funded from Lambeth’s capital allocation of £950,000 to improve the park.
Update: Work is now expected to take place from September 2023 rather than in the spring. Please see the report from our AGM for details. Works inevitably mean the playground will be out of action for a number of weeks.
FoRP representatives – including parents and carers of playground users – have given input into Lambeth’s decision-making process and Lambeth will share the final design publicly before the work starts.
The aims of the renovation include renewal and increased diversity of equipment, and greater provision for older children, in age-appropriate zones. There will be increased playground space, including some of the space currently used for basketball, and better access to the adjacent kiosk and toilets which are also due to be refurbished in 2023.
There is no further information yet about plans for redeveloping the redgra sports area opposite the playground where we think there are also opportunities to better serve the interests of older children and teenagers.
We believe the new playground will include many familiar items and some new ideas:
- A wider variety of swings
- Climbing and slide installations for older and younger children
- A wheelchair-accessible roundabout
- A cableway
- And much more.
To give you an idea, examples of Kompan’s equipment (some of which may be included in the final design) can be seen here. We will update when there is more information about the design, equipment and the timetable for the works.
If you have any queries or comments about the programme, please email Rob Kelly, project manager at Lambeth Council at rkelly2@lambeth.gov.uk.
If you have any comments for the Friends of Ruskin Park, please email info@friendsofruskinpark.org.uk. We will read and listen to all views, but may not be able to respond to all emails.