Holland Park outdoor gym refurbishment and golf practice area improvements

We asked for your views and feedback of the current outdoor gym at Holland Park including equipment and surfacing options. The consultation also sought to gather feedback on the golf practice area and pétanque court within Holland Park.

There were 66 survey responses.

General Outdoor gym:

How often people used the outdoor gym in Holland Park:  A total of 14 respondents said they use the outdoor gym equipment everyday, 28 respondents two to three times per week, ten respondents once a week, two respondents once a month, three respondents rarely and eight respondents never use the outdoor gym, and one respondent did not answer.

Satisfaction levels with the outdoor gym equipment: 43 respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied, seven respondents were neither satisfied or dissatisfied,  six respondents were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied and two respondents did not answer.

Outdoor gym improvements:

Which pieces of strength training equipment you use in the current outdoor gym:  37 respondents used the Chest Press, 37 respondents used the Pulldown Exerciser respondents, 31 respondents used the Leg Press, nine respondents used the Strength Wheel, 12 respondents did not use this equipment or did not answer.

Which pieces of Cardiovascular equipment you use in the current outdoor gym: 27 respondents used the Rower, 24 respondents used the Surfer, 19 respondents used the Skier, 16 respondents used the Pedal Bike, 12 respondents used the Arm and Pedal Bike, and 21 respondents did not use the equipment or did not answer.

Which pieces of Calisthenics/ upper body equipment you use in the current outdoor gym:  40 respondents used the Parallel Bars, 38 respondents used the Triple Pull Up Bars, 34 respondents used the Monkey Bars, 32 respondents used the Sit Up Benches, 32 respondents used the Gym Combination, and eight respondents did not use the equipment or did not answer.

Which pieces of Lower body/full body equipment you use in the current outdoor gym: 28 respondents used the Space walker, 26 respondents the balance beams, 25 respondents the Body Twister, 24 respondents the Agility bench, 24 respondents used the Hurdles, 19 respondents the Four Wheel Spinner, 11 respondents used the Accessible Combo unit, and seven respondents did not use this equipment or did not answer.

Which pieces of Flexibility equipment you use in the current outdoor gym: 20 respondents used the Workout posts, 20 respondents used the Horseback Rider, ten respondents used the Roller Back Massager and 24 respondents  did not use this equipment or did not answer.

Which new pieces or additional outdoor gym equipment people would like to see included in the refurbishment: 17 respondents would like different height/ more pull up bars, eight respondents more Strength/toning equipment, eight respondents suggested an additional training area/equipment or repairs, eight respondents wanted straight Monkey Bars, five respondents wanted a covered area/even surfacing, four respondents safety/storage suggestions and three respondents were satisfied with equipment.

Which type of equipment/method of training you would like to see implemented: 51 respondents supported option 1 – A combination of fitness equipment and calisthenics, nine respondents supported option 2 – A variety of fitness equipment only and six respondents did not answer.

If you supported replacing the current grass mat surfacing with rubber mulch surfacing under the equipment: 42 respondents  supported rubber mulch surfacing, five respondents did not support rubber mulch surfacing and 19 respondents did not know or did not answer.

Golf Practice area:

How often people used the golf practice area in Holland Park: Four respondents used the facility two to three times per week, one respondent once a week, one respondent once a month, seven respondents rarely, 46 respondents never used it, and seven respondents did not answer.

Satisfaction levels with the Golf Practice area: Five respondents were very satisfied or satisfied, five respondents were neither satisfied or dissatisfied and three respondents were dissatisfied.

How could the Golf Practice area be improved: Eight respondents shared their ideas which included enlarging the artificial putting green, new nets, mats and a bunker area, maintenance issues fence repairs, unstable bench, replacement of cracked cups/flag sticks and hire clubs and extended opening hours.

Pétanque Court:

How often people used the pétanque court:  Five respondents used the area every day, six respondents two to three times per week, two respondents once a week, three respondents once a month, five respondents rarely and 45 respondents never use it or did not answer.

What do you use the pétanque court for: 11 respondents use the area for other exercise activity ( e.g., boxing, stretching and squats), four respondents use the area for personal training and three respondents use the area for playing pétanque.

Satisfaction levels with the pétanque court: Eight respondents were very satisfied or satisfied, eleven respondents were neither satisfied or dissatisfied and three respondents were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

Any other ideas or suggestion for improvements: 13 respondents had no further comments, six respondents had comments relating to the pétanque court which included (basketball hoop, table tennis table, covering the area with something waterproof), six respondents commented on other areas/features, four respondents on tennis/racquet sports, three respondents on maintenance/surfacing, three respondents accessibility/cost comments and three respondents’ comments on signage.

Outdoor Gym:

The outdoor gym will be refurbished, the improvements will include the preferred training method of a range of fitness equipment and calisthenics. The popular items of equipment with at least 15 plus responses will all be replaced as part of the outdoor gym refurbishment. We will also look at including additional pull up bars at various heights and new strength and toning equipment. The grass matting safety surface will be replaced with rubber much. The layout of the outdoor gym will be improved to create fitness zones according to type of equipment e.g., cardio zone. Some accessible equipment will also be included in the design. If possible and within budget, we will also include a covered area/shelter for bag and clothing storage and to shelter from the rain and sun. Signage will be added about age use limitations for the equipment.

Golf Practice Area:

The maintenance issues such as the fencing, unstable bench replacement cracked cups/flag sticks and clubs will be improved/replaced. We will also look at the improvement to the nets, artificial putting green and mats.

Pétanque Area:

This is currently used for a variety of activities including some people playing pétanque and an exercise and stretching area. This area will remain unchanged for the time being and we will review this again once the work to the outdoor gym and golf practice areas are completed.

The improvements will be carried out late Spring to early Summer 2024.