Castle Hedingham Village Park

Castle Hedingham Parish Council is entering into a new 25 year lease for an area of land to provide a much needed recreational space for its residents. The Parish Council is committed to acting as swiftly as possible to develop The Old Allotment Site into a long awaited and much needed community open space . The Parish recognizes the urgent need to provide a facility that offers play provision for families and young children.

The Vision: To provide a sustainable, safe, accessible and appropriately developed public open space to meet the community's needs in an efficient and effective manner.

Aim: Provide an open space that becomes a community hub for the residents of Castle Hedingham whatever their age and ability.

Objectives: Enhance the physical character of the area, Provide connected routes, Protect and enhance the biodiversity of the site, Provide for children's and young peoples play, Contribute to the creation of healthy places including quiet areas, Improve opportunities for contact with the natural world

The Play Provision: To be located centrally on the site and providing for 3-7yr olds and 7-12 yr olds.The expectation is that the play should provide a minimum of 40 minutes play to the casual visits made by local residents. All types of play should be considered. The use of loose-fill surfacing as part of the play experience will be viewed favourably when considering proposals put forward by tenderers. The use of natural materials is preferred. Inclusion of locally sourced felled trees as part of the overall design is encouraged whether they be part of the play offer, provision of seating or general landscaping of the area. The use of bright colours is not seen as appropriate for this site but there is an appreciation that the use of colour to highlight parts of the offer can compliment the natural feel of the open space. It is not felt that the play offer requires fencing out of the open space area. The design should exploit the local topography of the site. The wider design should identify any surfaced routes required along with fencing and gates to assist in the security of the site as well as providing access for maintenance. A community garden/allotment is also planned for the western boundary of the site. Appropriate signage at the entrances and on the site to support appropriate use should be included in the design. The designs must take into account the 10 principles of designing Successful Play Spaces

Budget: £50,000 has been allocated from the Parish capital Fund for the Play area. A further £50,000 has been identified for landscaping and estate works, subject to successful grant applications. Our intention would be for on site works to commence anytime between January and April (subject to ground conditions) with a view to the project being completed by early May 2020