When people are searching for a new home, the amount of green open space and nearby facilities can be so important. St. Modwen keeps this in mind and the team has been working on creating more open spaces that are accessible to all at Kingsgrove. From the woodland walk trail to playparks and walkways, Kingsgrove gives people of all ages an opportunity to exercise, relax, meet and play, some are already available and there is still lots more to come!
Local Park East, the first playpark to open at Kingsgrove in 2021, offers young people a safe, designated area to have fun. Just across from the Public Square, the park is home to a timber climbing frame, play tower, slide, an accessible ‘Calypso’ spinner, talk tubes and musical orbs. A range of seating has been added so parents and guardians can share in their children’s play experience.
Planning permission has been given for Local Park West by Grove Road East. The area will include accessible springers, a wheelchair accessible trampoline and swing set with accessible seating to make sure that this play space will be inclusive for the entire community. There will also be a new timber climbing forest and play hut equipped with a slide and more, and it should all be opening towards the end of 2024.
St. Modwen held a public consultation at the Community Day in September 2022 to discuss the Central Park with residents and gather valuable feedback. The planning team then held a specialised workshop based on this feedback, with councillors and residents around the park which gave us a great insight into what local people would like to see. The team is also working with Make Space for Girls, a group dedicated to making sure play areas are welcoming to all children and teenagers regardless of gender and PiPA (Plan Inclusive Play Areas) a social enterprise with the aim of helping improve inclusive play facilities for children and families.
There will be play equipment for all age groups including teenagers and adults, from slides, climbing frames and swings to socialising areas, agility equipment and a skate park. There will also be football pitches with a sports pavilion and a Multi-Use Games Area. St. Modwen will be providing a community orchard, growing space and allotments to allow residents and visitors to come together and harvest their own fruit and vegetables.
The team have outline planning permission for Central Park already, and are hoping to submit their detailed plans in spring 2023. Work is ongoing on the detailed design of the scheme taking into account all the feedback received to date and this will be shared with residents soon. Work is intended to begin on delivering the Central Park in 2024, with the opening of Central Park East and West anticipated in winter 2024 and 2026 respectively.
St. Modwen would like to say a big thanks to residents and local stakeholders for their thoughts and comments throughout the consultation process.