Revamped play areas officially opened – and more will be improved in the coming year

Two newly-refurbished play areas have been given the seal of approval by experts – the children who use them.

Play areas at Mason Road and Stratford Park in Stroud have been revamped and reopened.

New play equipment has been installed following consultation with residents and the children who use it, providing children with much-improved play areas for years to come. Both were opened with special events for children recently.

The play area is one of six throughout the district to be revamped by Stroud District Council. Acacia Drive and Cambridge Avenue in Dursley, Wharfdale Way in Stonehouse, Archway Gardens in Paganhill and now Mason Road in Stroud are now complete and were funded by £300,000 of Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) for local authorities in England to help reduce the spread of coronavirus and support local public health. SDC is contributing its own funds to improve Stratford Park’s play area in Stroud.

A further £150,000 has been earmarked for investment in more play area revamps in 2024/25, as well.

All the play areas were redesigned in consultation with the communities who use them, and they had the final say on the designs.

One of the council’s three main priorities in its Council Plan is Community Resilience and Wellbeing - play areas are vital for the health and wellbeing of young children and their families.

“We know that all these play areas are very well used, and very important to the communities around them,” said SDC Director of Communities, Keith Gerrard. “That’s why we involved them closely in the design, so they get the facilities they need.”