Redhill, Wakefield

Client: Wakefield Council

Cost: £70,000

Date: January, 2013

Genre: Landscape, Community, Youth

Wakefield Council worked with playground equipment company Sutcliffe Play to design a new £70,000 playground in Airedale as part of a scheme to tackle obesity by providing outdoor facilities that encourage and support physical activity. Mission play equipment and Parkour are both proving to be very popular.

The Council secured over £70,000 from the NHS Wakefield District Change4Life Three Areas Project grant initiative for the new playground after Airedale was identified by NHS Wakefield District as one of the top three priority areas with particularly high levels of overweight children and obesity .

Redhill Drive Recreation Ground was officially opened by children from Airedale Academy and Cllr Yvonne Crewe from Wakefield Council and will encourage local children to increase levels of physical activity and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

The playground features innovative equipment from Sutcliffe Play including the Council’s first outdoor Parkour structure. Parkour or free running is growing in popularity across the UK and encourages play opportunities such as vaulting and balancing.

The design of the play area is based on extensive consultation with young people and residents through focus groups and door to door surveys at over 700 homes within a 10 minute walk of the play area.

Cllr Maureen Cummings, said: “The play area is a fantastic addition for local residents and will encourage young people to spend more time outdoors socialising and keeping fit and healthy.

“We would like to pass our thanks to the Airedale, Ferry Fryston, New Fryston and Townville Neighbourhood Management Board for their support throughout this project providing valuable local knowledge about the needs and requirements of the people of Airedale.”

Tom Matthews at Sutcliffe Play comments: “We’re delighted to have worked with Wakefield Council on this exciting project. We are confident that the Parkour and Mission kit installed will provide local children with stimulating, engaging physical play opportunities to help towards the Council’s goal of creating a healthier District.”

Playground Equipment:

Parkour

The bespoke Parkour equipment adds a layer of challenge to the play area which will stretch and develop users for years to come. The space has been designed to facilitate free movement between the pieces of the range and is designed to offer non-prescriptive opportunities for physical, risky and challenging play.

The equipment encourages users to navigate through the play using all of the elements within the environment developing skills such as balance and problem solving.

Mission

Sutcliffe Play’s exhilarating play system is designed to offer challenging physical play opportunities to help keep children fit and active. The fully modular system complements the Parkour range and includes ropes, nets, platforms and springboards to encourage climbing, traversing and descending in unique ways for high energy invigorating play.

Hide & Slide Toddlerzone Unit

This unit has been designed to encourage imaginative and social play and features a number of role play opportunities. The bow of a ship has been supported by binoculars to aid nautical play whilst the area below can be used as a shop counter.

The Cherry Twist

The Cherry Twist is ideal for juniors and offers high levels of exhilarating play. Its compact making the activities feel faster and it really tests the user’s upper body strength.

Toddler & Junior Swings

Produced for over 20 years, Sutcliffe Play’s swings are very robust as they are manufactured using hot dipped galvanised steel.

This 2.4m High Swing features bumper seats – seats with smooth, round edges, ergonomically designed to help children learn to swing.

It also includes 2 x cradle seats which are specially designed for younger children who need support and supervision while swinging, and are encased in rubber for a soft touch.