Kingsley School Playground in Devon

Brief – The existing equipment had been condemned and removed, leaving a redundant play space which was laid to loose fill rubber crumb.
The crumb was regularly having to be inspected and replenished so a zero-maintenance surface solution was sought by the client. The play zone was dissected by a dwarf wall which served no practical purpose. This if left in situ limited development opportunity of the site so it needed to be broke out to maximise use of the small play space.
The school was eager to explore climbing options which were open ended, inclusive for all age groups (5-11yrs) and ideally a modular system they could add to when budget permitted.

Outcome – Numerous options were presented to the school council and our bespoke Huntsman tangled unit was the overwhelming favourite.
It has been thoughtfully positioned with future phased development in mind. The Huntsman can either be modified or the client can consider alternative standalone play features. Phased planning is all too often overlooked in playground design – If this play unit had been installed central to the play zone, it would have resulted in dead space and any future development would have been severely compromised.
The rubber crumb has been excavated (repurposed around the school grounds) and 40mm black wetpour has been installed to a 100mm MOT stone base.

The school are thrilled with the finished result, the attention to detail in futureproofing the space and our consultative approach which ESP demonstrated throughout the consultation period. Such service levels have ensured ESP will be strongly considered for future grounds development projects.