Boldre Play Park

Aim

To create an engaging play area supporting positive mental wellbeing and physical development for kids, and benefiting the whole community.

Boldre Parish Play Park Regeneration

It's not too late to donate! 

To do so, please contact the Parish Clerk...

c/o Pilley Community Shop, Pilley Street, Pilley, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 5QG

Who are we?

Boldre is a large, rural Parish in the New Forest National Park. Boldre Parish Council (BPC) owns a recreation ground which is open to the public, is regularly used by Lymington Town Sprites (youth) Football Club teams, and is adjacent to Boldre War Memorial Hall in the village of Pilley - at the heart of the parish.

Together with our part time Groundsman, the council works hard to make the parish a welcoming place to live.

What’s our goal?

Our old parish play park had to be dismantled as part a project to benefit the wider community, so our aim is to create a wonderful new play area for our parish’s families, friends and visitors.  

Play parks are a vital learning environment for children: spinning, swinging, rocking, rolling motions – these sensations are fundamental to every child’s physical development, helping them build core strength, coordination and balance. Recent years have demonstrated how crucial outdoor space and activity is for mental wellbeing.

The play park will form an integrated part of our parish hub: village halls, shop, post office, and leisure facilities, all in one location – making it a convenient place for children and families to meet up with friends. It will also include equipment for less able users, ensuring that there is enjoyment for all.

There has been a lot of community engagement and interest along the way, with the preferred vendor, Redlynch, and their design being overwhelmingly voted the winner by our local community. An artist’s impression of their winning design is shown below:

The play park will sit within a fully fenced play and leisure space (outlined in blue below) of which the new play park design will cover about a third of this space (see design plan above).

Future plans for the wider play area include adding wild play elements to provide an alternative, more natural environment for creative and imaginative play.

Why did the old play park get dismantled?

Due to the expiration of the lease at its previous location, the Community Shop and Post Office was forced to seek new premises. Unfortunately, the only suitable and feasible site was on the old play park – next to Boldre War Memorial Hall. This meant that to preserve the last shop and Post Office in the parish, the old play park was dismantled, and a new building for the shop / Post Office was built in its place.

The ‘EXTENSION’ and parking spaces (circled red in the image below) is where the old play park was and where the new Community Shop and Post Office now is:

In order to retain the valuable parish assets of the Community Shop and Post Office, which are very valuable parish assets, BPC undertook to relocate and redevelop the entire play park. Unfortunately, the play equipment items were nearing end of life and all except one item would not have survived relocation. That one item – a swing frame – was moved by volunteers from the community who provided the skill and labour needed to create a temporary toddler swing away from the building site.

What impact will there be on the parish?

Although this project is directly aimed at community children up to the age of 13 and our local schools, it, together with the relocation of the Community Shop and Post Office, provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a central parish hub that benefits all ages.

As such, this project will be of benefit to the entire Parish of Boldre by:

• Providing up to date play facilities for the children living in and visiting the parish.
• Fostering physical development through activity and recreation.
• Providing a safe, well-maintained outdoor space for play and socialising, and an aid to mental wellbeing.
• Supporting our highly valued Community Shop and Post Office by increasing the number an scope of potential customers.

The wider leisure space will include seating and picnic benches in the green space to the left of the new play park. Located just outside the new shop’s back doors, this will provide a useful social hub for parents and grandparents to meet up.

Don’t our taxes pay for these types play of facilities?

Unfortunately, no: Council Tax Band D contributes about £27.50 pa to town and parish councils. That’s just over 50p per week, per household. Play equipment is very expensive! And creating a play park represents an enormous investment for rural parish councils.

BPC has applied for funding with many organisations, but with very little success. The pandemic, followed by the cost-of-living crisis – exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, has meant that most funding is being awarded to Covid recovery projects, foodbanks and just filling gaps in government provision in areas of the country far less fortunate than our own.

BPC does however have a seed fund for the project, but more money is needed if the community’s preferred design is to come to life.

What will my donation be spent on?

All money received will be spent on creating a new play park for the community. Ideally this will be from the community’s chosen supplier, Redlynch, but if the project is significantly under the target amount, then other play equipment vendors and designs will have to be considered so that a play park is re-established for our community.

I and BPC fully appreciate that these are very worrying times for many families. The choice between heating and eating will unfortunately become more than just a sound bite for many in the coming 

months. Many local families may not be able to afford holidays away or even days out. Consequently, a well-designed local play park will provide parish children and their families somewhere to play and meet up with friends.

If you are able to donate and help build a lasting community asset that will strengthen the parish’s hub infrastructure, please, please do donate.

Rewards for donations?

As a small token of recognition, all donations of £100 and over will be eligible to be recorded on a plaque commemorating the contribution. Donors can elect to have their name or chosen wording* engraved on a plaque that will be displayed within the recreation ground.

With luck and goodwill, the target will be met.

Thank you.

* Boldre Parish Council reserve the right to refuse inappropriate wordings.

This project successfully funded on 16th December 2022