Playful plans afoot for Shoreditch Adventure Playground
A roof slide, climbing wall, outdoor cooking area, as well as a new multifunctional play building, are just some of a raft of new, fun and more inclusive facilities children can expect to enjoy next year as part of Hackney Council’s plans to improve Shoreditch Adventure Playground.
The plans have been developed over the past 12 months with young people from the Council-run playground, in Shoreditch Park, Mintern Street. The new facilities represent £350,000 investment in the playground, and will see the existing building - which is more than 30 years old, inflexible and has poor accessibility - replaced.
Cllr Caroline Woodley, Cabinet Member for Parks and Play, and Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, were welcomed to the playground by two ‘Play Ambassadors’ - young people who volunteer to support the playground and promote play - who talked to them about the importance of the playground, these exciting plans and also their aspirations about how the new facilities might be used in the future.
Plans for the fully accessible play building will also include space for indoor den-building, swings and hammocks; and table football, pool, air hockey and other games. There will be flexible smaller areas for soft play, arts and crafts, relaxing, reading or doing homework, as well as for watching films or using computers. There will also be break-out pods for smaller groups and a new roof space. The new building will include step-free access for the first time, an accessible toilet with changing facilities, a lowered opening into the kitchen to encourage more children to take part in cooking activities, and a new pathway allowing access around the entire building. Outside there will be a fire pit, extended kitchen facilities, and a covered seating area.
Play is an integral part of childhood experience. Our upcoming investment into the Shoreditch Adventure Playground means local children and young people will have the facilities and opportunity to have fun, or relax, and meet others in an exciting, stimulating and inclusive new space.
The former water flume from the old Britannia Leisure Centre will find a new home at the playground - where it will be installed as a slide. The new Britannia Centre is due to open next week and these new facilities will complement the new leisure centre and wider investment in the park, which will also see a new multi-use games area constructed next to the playground - allowing joint projects for the first time.