On Wednesday 21st December at 11am the Chairman of Sutton Courtenay Parish Council, Councillor Rita Atkinson, will cut the ribbon to officially open the new equipment at the Old Wallingford Way Recreation Ground.

The Recreation Ground, which is owned by the Parish Council, previously had a rather small and tired play area, plus a multi-use games area (MUGA) and a skate park. Following a £315,000 refurbishment the northern side of the site now has a large fenced play area with over 15 pieces of equipment designed for children aged 2-14 years; a new MUGA; a new BMX pump track; a 4 person carousel; new shelters, benches and improved access from the car park with a footpath linking the areas.

The project has been financed with a £100,000 grant from FCC Communities Foundation; a £10,000 grant from National Lottery Awards for All England; £97,000 from developers’ contributions (60% of which had been tied to providing recreational facilities) and £78,000 of public funds held by the Parish Council, the majority of which had been saved up over recent years.

At the south west corner of the Recreation Ground, thanks to a grant of £30,000 from the Sutton Courtenay National Power Trust an outdoor fitness area has been installed with 6 activity stations. Visitors can download an app from Kompan Ltd which enables them to download videos and tips on how to use the equipment.

The play area, MUGA and skate park will be closed from Monday 5^th September 2022 to allow a new equipment to be installed, including a new BMX track. The skate park will remain but needs to be closed off during the work. The wider recreation ground will remain open.

 

General changes  

·            New entrance to car park fence

·            New path to connect the Pavilion with the new shelter by the Skate Park

·            Seating

·            New trees.

 

Skatepark area

•       Climbing - Concrete wall – used as eastern boundary of the MUGA (subject to funding)

•        Bright colours to enhance the space and make it pop up. • Shelter with green roof and seating.

•        Possible Wavy Hedge integrated with ‘fun’ seating.

•        BMX Scooter/ Bike Pump track. (Indicative size) New activity in this area that can work well with the existing or any future Skate Park configuration and adds more interest for different ages. Modifications to Skate Park not in scope of this project.

 

Playarea

•        Wavy Hedge all around the playground – new entrance by the proposed shelter

•              Shelter with green roof and seating

•              Possibility of integration of existing trees in the design (within tree house, and between climbing poles)

•        Loosely defined areas for different age groups containing mounds with slides and tunnels; inground trampolines; carousel; spinner; stepping logs; tree house etc.

 

Multiuse Games Area (MUGA)

•         Existing MUGA surface retained

•         New low fence on the longitudinal sides

•         Taller fences on both ends possibly integrated with climbing walls (western and eastern boundaries)

 

Field Area

•                Running trail

•                Footpath around the perimeter of the site

•                Seating along the path

•                Trim trail stations

 

Cricket

•                Upgrade of cricket practice nets

•                Proposed location of Cricket Pavilion (construction is outside scope of current project)

 

Football/Rugby

 

• Two permanent combination football/rugby posts for general community use.