A new £65,000 playground, complete with its very own trampoline, has opened in a St Albans park.
The new facility at Cunningham Hill Open Space was officially opened on Saturday morning (March 9), with around 30 people attending the launch.
Parents, councillors and excited children watched on as swings, a slide, ground level trampoline, carousel and a seesaw were all unveiled.
The new playground builds on the additions of footpaths, benches, trees, wildflowers and an allotment, which have been installed over the last three years.
The open space also includes two football pitches that are available for hire, and a pavilion with changing rooms.
The improvements have been mainly paid for by contributions by property developers to provide community facilities.
However, funds were also provided by the City Neighbourhoods Committee’s (CNC) ward allocations, a scheme to improve community assets in the unparished areas of St Albans.
The city's mayor, Cllr Anthony Rowlands, said: “I am thrilled to have opened this wonderful new playground which is the culmination of several years of hard work to provide the Cunningham Hill community with a greatly improved green space.
“I am sure it will be used and enjoyed by mums and dads and their children for many years to come.
"This is now a place where families can come together to get to know each other, enjoy fresh air and some healthy exercise.”
Cllr Robert Donald, vice-chair of the CNC, added: “The formal opening of the new play area on Cunningham Field was a moment of real satisfaction for our local community and for me personally, as it marked the formal completion of improvement work to this open space which was first proposed some 15 years ago.
“The project started with residents originally requesting better access with a path across the field.
"Following consultation, a crushed granite path was constructed in October 2022 going round both sides of the field and joining with an existing one.
“The path allows children to walk to various local primary schools across the field reducing car journeys, traffic congestion and CO2 pollution.
"It also means commuters can walk to the station more easily, residents can get to the Cell Barnes Lane shops and runners, joggers and walkers can exercise locally and connect with the Alban Way.
“The makeover didn’t end there, however, and an environmental improvement plan was produced by the district council and Hertfordshire County Council’s countryside management service, which retained the football pitches and the green nature of this open space.
“Rewilding has been undertaken with a wildflower meadow area created, additional trees and a hedge planted and an avenue of semi-mature trees set alongside one section of the path.
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"The existing allotments have been improved and eight more added for people on the waiting list.
“The work on the play area was the last part of this green space environmental improvement project and it is already proving a big hit with young children living nearby who didn’t have anything like this near them before.
“This is a field that belongs to all local residents and I really hope that children and families, young and old, will continue to cherish it and enjoy the improvements that have been made to it now for years to come.”
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