Play parks being replaced or refurbished being brought forward

27 February 2017

A total of £826,000 is to be spent accelerating the upgrade of playparks throughout the city after the money was agreed at the City Council’s Budget meeting.

The sites of the playparks is yet to be decided but the money is in addition to the £590,000 agreed at last month’s Communities, Housing and Infrastructure committee for the planned 2017/18 playpark upgrades.

There will be further announcements later in the year for which playparks will be upgraded with the £826,000 agreed at the Budget meeting.

Aberdeen City Council Leader Jenny Laing said: “The council over the last five years have been upgrading our playparks which have been a fantastic success with children in communities all around the city having a great time on the new or refurbished equipment.

“I am positive the £826,000 extra investment into our playparks will make a big difference to our communities and neighbourhoods to allow lots more of our city’s youngsters to get outside and have fun while being active.”

At last month’s CH&I committee, it was agreed 17 play parks are to be replaced or refurbished at a total cost of £590,000. The play areas, which are situated around the city, follow on from improvements to other play parks made since 2012/13.

The play areas targeted for 2017/18 are Seaton Gardens South, Kingswood Gardens, Persley Crescent, Callum Park, Orchard Street, Colthill Road, Oldtown Terrace, Ash Hill Road, Seaton Place East, Lee Crescent, Middle Brae, Devenick Place, Sheddocksley Community Centre, Stewart Park, Piries Lane, The Meadows, and Westfield Park.

As in previous years, communities will be consulted on the proposals for higher value sites.

A review of the Aberdeen’s play area inspection regime was carried out by the service in 2012/13, as a result of an identified decline in the overall condition of play areas. Following on from that review, new inspection, reporting and maintenance procedures have been put in place. These improved procedures are contributing to the overall improvement in the quality of play areas city wide, and play areas throughout the city have been updated or replaced every year since 2012/13.

The programme was structured to target the areas most in need of refurbishment, balanced against overall condition, play value and proximity to other areas.

For 2016/17, the play areas upgraded were Coldstone Place (£15,000), Craigielea Avenue (£17,000) Wellside Place (£17,000), Eday Cr (£59,000), Morrison Drive (£25,000) Froghall Place (£53,000) Ferrier Cr (£79,000), Marquis Rd (£22,000), Kings Court (£23,000), Ruthrieston Circle (£39,000), Allan Park (£60,000), Coronation Rd (£15,000), Seaview Place (£30,000), Westerton of Auchmill (£30,000), Findon Ness (£25,000).

Partial refurbishments were carried out at Persley Cr (£10,000) and South Esplanade West (£7,000).

The City Council adheres to the Play Policy, which includes monitoring the city’s network of fixed play equipment sites to ensure that they are safe, well lit and maintained to a high standard, providing play opportunities within the city that are high quality challenging and safe, and promoting the importance of play within the lives of Aberdeen’s children so that they are active and healthy.