It’s all swings and roundabouts at Chieveley’s new £150k community playground

Hundreds turned up to see the unveiling of a bespoke new village playground.

It was all smiles at Chieveley on Sunday (July 2) as a crowd of 250 schoolchildren, councillors, charity representatives and supporters come together to unveil the village’s brand new state of the art playground, costing £150,000.

Everyone had a hand in its creation, including the local schoolchildren who designed it.

“We think this project is a bit special for a village of our size,” Mark Hutchison told newburytoday, grounds officer for the Recreation Ground and a driving force behind the project.

The original playground was 30 years old and in need of an upgrade to cater to the growing community demand.

“Basically, we needed to bring it up to date, so we recycled as much as we possibly could, including the woodchips and much of the equipment was donated by organisations,” he says.

Mr Hutchison says the organising committee consulted 183 schoolchildren and 85 others on the design of the new environmentally-friendly playground.

He continued saying: “It was only right that the head boy and head girl from Chieveley Primary School were there to declare it open.”

Chieveley Parish Council also unveilved a plaque for all the lead donors, which included 42 private donations.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without Greenham Trust, West Berkshire Council, Chieveley Parish Council and the National Lottery,” adds Mr Hutchison.

“It’s not surprising that at the opening and since, people have come from beyond Chieveley to use it and they particuarly like the amount of disabled activities available. It’s really got something for everyone.”

An added bonus saw those who turned up receive a free ice cream, along with free tea and cakes.

A great start for all the children as schools imminently break up for summer.