Malmesbury play areas benefit from £42k investment

Play areas in Malmesbury have been made even safer thanks to a £42,000 investment by Malmesbury Town Council.

The council commissioned a report by RoSPA – The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – to look at the five play areas it manages in the town and has funded all its suggested changes.

These included dismantling, replacing, and repairing some equipment, replacing missing cap covers on bolts, replacing worn links on swing chains, and repairing surfacing.

As well as looking at the play equipment itself, RoSPA checked areas such as fencing, seating and signage on the five sites at Newnton Grove, St Aldhelm’s Mead, Reeds Farm, White Lion Park and Filands.

“The play areas in Malmesbury are incredibly important for our local community, providing safe, outdoor recreational spaces for children of all ages,” said town councillor Steve D’Arcy.

Now, the council is also looking at making the play areas more inclusive, after being approached by Play inclusive Play Areas (PiPA), a social enterprise which aims to help improve play facilities for children and families across the UK.

The council’s grounds staff used PiPA’s audit sheets for the five play areas to assess what changes could be made to increase inclusivity.

Cllr D’Arcy added: “It is clear from the audit that there is scope for improvement, for example changing some of the swings so they have seats and straps suitable for children with disabilities to use. We will be using the PiPA framework to inform future play area development and improvement.”