Emslie Horniman Pleasance Playgrounds Refurbishment

We asked for your views on two of the playgrounds within Emslie Horniman Pleasance, with the aim of making refurbishments to them using feedback from the community. The consultation was split into 2 phases – initial ideas and feedback, followed by a survey.

Phase 1 (Initial Ideas and Feedback)

Phase 2 (Survey) - 106 responses

Junior Playground (Multi Themed):

• Satisfaction: A total of 52% were satisfied with the current playground (12% very satisfied, 40% satisfied). Whilst a total of 24% of respondents were dissatisfied (17% dissatisfied, 7% very dissatisfied).
• Type of Material: A total of 83% of respondents said that they would like the equipment to be made out of wood/timber/natural materials.
• Seating: A total of 65% of respondents said that there should be more seating and benches within the playground.
• Top 5 Requested Types of Equipment: Learn and Play, Jumper/Trampoline, Multi-unit/Climbing Frames, Swings and Balancing Equipment.
• Canopies: 77% of respondents said they felt the canopy (covered area) features should remain within the large playground.
• Themes: The majority of respondents wanted to have multiple themes throughout the playground.
• Gates and Fencing: A total of 76% of respondents would like to see improvements made to the entrance gates and perimeter fencing.
• Mural: The majority (83%) of respondents would like to see a mural within the playground to celebrate local artistry.
• Other Comments: Make the canopies larger, improve the entrance gate by installing a child lock/self-closing mechanism, and adding more bins.

Pathfinder Playground:

• 76% of respondents said that they would like to see the space remain as a playground area.
• Types of equipment: A total of 63% of respondents selected Jumper/Trampoline and Multi-unit/Climbing frames as their most preferred. The least popular option was Dynamic/Spinning equipment at 25%.
• Type of Material: 65% of respondents supported the idea of keeping the equipment in the pathfinder playground with the same natural, timber look.
• Surfacing: 69% of respondents wanted to see suitable safety surfacing introduced.
• Other Comments: More seating, make the space more visible, add more bins, and make the space more appealing for older children.

The results will be used to help with the scope of the works, and the council will be working with the community to finalise the designs of the play areas.