A £250K new play park in the heart of Harpenden's Rothamsted Park has officially opened.
Following the transfer in ownership of the park from St Albans district council to Harpenden Town Council (HTC) earlier this year, a brief was developed by HTC in partnership with parents group Playpark Action Rothamsted Committee (PARC).
The winning contractor, Proludic Ltd, designed an engaging scheme themed around nature including a Whimsical Woodland enclosed play zone aimed at five years and under, the Fantastic Forest which encourages younger children to explore, a Rambling River for six to 10 year olds to test their strength and agility, and a Tree Tops area promoting social play and challenge for older children of approximately 11-15 years.
The play area was formally opened by Mayor Paul Cousins, who said: “The play area redevelopment would not have been possible without the brilliant work of PARC, a local organisation that has for some time driven forward the project.
"In partnership with PARC we have been able to bring to life their vision and open what is an interactive and engaging play area for all children.”
PARC chairman Matt Stephens added: “Helping design, develop and fundraise for our new playpark has been a real privilege, and most of all it's so exciting to finally be here with a new playpark built!
"Huge thanks must go to the PARC team, Harpenden Town Council, Harpenden Trust and the hundreds of local residents who donated to make this possible. Once again Rothamsted has a flagship playpark that can be enjoyed by thousands of children all year round.”
Entertainment and activities at last month's grand re-opening event were free and included Showtime Circus, Fantastic Faces Face Painting, soft play, Artventurers, Mini Professors and Disco Kids and the Mayor's charity stalls.
Children also enjoyed completing the Activity Workbook designed by Proludic Ltd which can be downloaded from the Harpenden Town Council website for use at any time.
Government Covid guidance was followed with measures put in place to assist in avoidance of overcrowding; activities were spread over a large area of Rothamsted Park and a traffic light system was implemented on each of the play area zones with marshals monitoring the volume of people using the new play equipment.
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