Following the closure of the playground earlier this month, preparation for the construction has stepped up a gear. The larger elements of the playground have been plotted, and to hear the rumble of machinery today has been fantastic! We just need a mild, dry winter now!
We are absolutely delighted to update you with news that planning consent has been granted for the renovation of the Adventure Playground!
Lots of exciting new play features are planned for the playground, together with a new train station for the miniature railway, a catering kiosk, and toilet facilities. Work is set to begin next month, when the playground has its seasonal closure over winter, and we very much look forward to sharing its progress with you…
Welcome to all our new followers, it is great to know that there is so much excitement and interest in the new Adventure Playground. Staff and volunteers working at Belton are being asked lots of questions about the changes to the playground, with the most popular being … ‘When is the new playground opening?’
Our planning application is with the local Council, and we are hopeful of a positive outcome in the not too distant future. Subject to planning consent, it is anticipated that construction work will commence late summer, with the new Adventure Playground opening in Spring 2015. In the mean time, the project team are still busy planning the detail of play equipment, and also the facilities which will make your visit more enjoyable. We will let you know as soon as we hear any news, watch this space!…
It will be a little while before you will see any changes to the Adventure Playground, but I’m sure you will all be pleased to hear that the existing playground opens tomorrow, along with the rest of the property, from the earlier time of 9.30am every day!
We thought you might like to see how the tower looks now it has been redesigned, we’re really pleased with how this has evolved. There’s a fantastic internal maze to explore too, who knows where you might pop out from!
(Those of you who are familiar with Belton, may also notice some uncanny similarities between this and another building on the estate ….?)
As promised, here are are some of the drawings for the proposed new Adventure Playground. These are not the final plans as there is still an amount of ‘tweaking’ needed, but we hope you will be as excited about the plans as we are …. we also hope Anna will be pleasantly surprised with the similarity to her drawing too!
Click on the thumbnails for a closer look…
Playground Masterplan
Large Adventure Treehouse
Small Adventure Treehouse
Play Equipment
We are delighted to announce that following the recent tender process, ‘Blue Forest’ have been appointed to lead the design of the new playground. The design will include some fantastic bespoke play structures, a train station, kiosk, toilets and an entrance via a new bridge, all created by Blue Forest. Further play equipment will be provided by ‘Timberplay’, whose equipment has already become a familiar and much loved feature within the existing playground. We are really excited with how the designs are progressing, and look forward to sharing them with you in the coming weeks, watch this space!….
We would like to express a huge Thank You to our Family Focus Group, who spared time on the last day of the school holidays, to give their comments on draft concepts/ideas for our new Adventure Playground. It was particularly interesting to hear what the children thought and see what they found most exciting! Thank you once again for your super feedback, this is very much appreciated and will help us with the final design.
Anna, aged 6
There have certainly been some changes to the Adventure Playground over the years, and it’s not until we look back at old photographs that we actually remember what equipment has come and gone, and some have had numerous modifications too!…
The tree-house which currently has the tube slide attached
Does anyone remember taking a boat trip?
Scramble nets
Repair time!
The very ‘whizzy’ zip wire
The days when only 3 carriages were needed on the train!
Sadly, we don’t have many old images of the Adventure Playground, so we would love to hear from you if you have any hidden away, particularly if they were taken between 1976-1995. If you would be willing to share your images, please do let us know as we would be very excited to see them!
… not really, but attaching equipment in this way has contributed to the decline of many trees within the playground, and the subsequent removal of some of your favourite platforms and slides. With this in mind, the decision has been made to site all new play equipment independent of the trees. This will help protect the many specimen and veteran trees, which have stood within the Adventure Playground for many years, and will hopefully do so for many more years to come too!
Damage caused by attached equipment
Belton Adventure Playground Project 