Russells Hall Primary School , Dudley West Midlands

Project Brief
ESP PLAY got the chance to design and install a new playground in Dudley at Russell Hall Primary School.

ESP PLAY was challenged to enhance a wooded area in the EYFS playground with the objective of making the space accessible all year round. This zone accounts for two thirds of the available play area and as such was exposed to heavy footfall. This made it unusable in the winter months and with no grass growth in the summer it, resulted in a hard pack, dusty play area.

Upon inspection of the site, the challenges presented were immediately obvious. The area was dominated with mature trees and an abundance of exposed tree roots. It was important to the school that the trees were preserved and with the exposed root systems in mind more conventional playground surfacing would potentially compromise the trees. Equally, future root growth would likely damage the new surface resulting in premature failure.

Outcome
The play space was divided into three zones. This was largely governed by tree locations and route growth. The finalised layout also afforded the school the opportunity to zone playground activities with their existing non fixed play resources. Fortuitously, an area adjacent to the tarmac was free from tree roots, so we able to install artificial grass, giving the school a much-needed extension to their existing tarmac play space. The new pea gravel, play bark and artificial grass, is retained and defined with timber sleepers.

We have now transformed a challenging play space into a functional playground which can be enjoyed all year round. The school are delighted to have a playground surface solution which is sustainable for their setting. It has met their needs perfectly and the raised sleepers has kept surface migration and replenishment to an absolute minimum. The installation wasn’t without its challenges, but the client was very impressed with ESP PLAY’s handling of these snags, our open communication and the completed installation. As such, the client wouldn’t hesitate to recommend our services.