Pendle Borough Council

Playgrounds

Information

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Play Facilities: Playgrounds, MUGA's, Skate Parks & Outdoor Gym Equipment

Part of Parks and

 Recreation Services' remit is to maintain and inspect the Borough's: 

All our 68 play facilities can be found in: 

Inspections and Maintenance

We have a team of dedicated staff who spend their time inspecting all of our play areas to ensure they are kept clear of all litter and all equipment is maintained and in full working order.

On a weekly basis all of the playgrounds have a full safety inspection where full records are kept of any problems and all faults are repaired/remedied immediately (wherever possible) to ensure the equipment is as safe as possible at all times.

Further to this, on an annual basis we employ an independent examiner to inspect, assess and undertake a thorough Health and Safety Risk Assessment of all of our play areas to ensure our equipment meets the highest standards in safety.

We offer six different types of play facilities:

  • Infant Playgrounds - designed for 4-5 year olds
  • Junior Playgrounds - designed for 5-12 year olds
  • Senior Playgrounds - designed for 12-16 year olds
  • Gym Equipment (in some play areas) - which are pieces of equipment which are health orientated and can be used by young and old
  • MUGAs (Multi Use Play Areas) - for all ages particularly teenagers
  • Skate Parks - for all ages particularly teenagers specifically designed for the use of skateboards, skates and bikes.

We have taken great care to ensure our playgrounds have been imaginatively designed ensuring we offer plenty of seating, picnic benches (in some areas), and we have ensured all areas have sufficient litter bins. These playgrounds have been ideally situated in the heart of the local community making the playgrounds as accessible as possible to all members of the community.

Disabled Facilities

The majority of our playgrounds offer equipment which is DDA friendly, any play area that was installed from 2006 onwards will have at least 2 pieces of play equipment that can be accessed by children with a disability.  The entrances to the play areas are wheelchair and pushchair friendly.

Hire of Harnesses

The harnesses for the cradle seats can be hired from our main offices at Marsden Hall Farm, Nelson.

Dog Free Areas

We have tried to ensure that as many play areas as possible are dog free by installing dog grids in the entrance ways.

No Smoking

The Council are working to protect children and young people from the effects of second hand smoke and to denormalise smoking, particularly around children, by providing signage in all play facilities managed and maintained by Parks & Recreation Services across Pendle i.e. Play Areas, Multi Use Games Area's and Skate Parks.

The signs encourage users to regard the facilities as smoke free areas and also provide smokers with details of how to access support to stop smoking where appropriate.

The initiative has been developed in partnership with NHS East Lancashire and Smoke Free Families.

New Play Areas

Part of our service is to renovate/ build new play areas to ensure we meet the public demand for better and more accessible play facilities in the local area. We have a ten year continuous rolling programme of maintenance and renewal of all our playgrounds.

During this process we always consult with the local users, ie local school children to ensure we build facilities which meet their wishes and requirements. We visit local schools giving the children the opportunity to forward their ideas so they are fully involved with the construction of their local playground and the playground meets their needs.

Parks Byelaws

From 1st June 2009 Pendle's parks, open spaces and children's playgrounds will have new byelaws which will help make them much safer places to visit.

Children and Youth Play Area Strategy

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