The Regent’s Park Marylebone Green Playground Refurbishment Consultation Report 2013

This report details the process for the consultation activities delivered throughout February 2013 on Marylebone Green Playground refurbishment. Consultation for the playground refurbishment: In January 2013 The Royal Parks asked the Field Studies Council (FSC) to consult with people living and working nearby or regularly visiting the Marylebone Green Playground over a three week period. The aim was to engage the community in discussions about the proposal and for the FSC to report back on those activities. Field Studies Council Field Studies Council is an environmental education charity dedicated solely to providing informative and enjoyable opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to discover, explore, be inspired by, and understand the natural environment. Established in 1943, FSC has become internationally respected for its national network of learning locations, international outreach training projects, research programmes, information and publication services, and wide range of professional training and leisure courses. Each year over 140,000 people from school children through to retired adults experience the FSC at one of our network of learning locations and 17 Field Centres including sites as varied as London’s Royal Parks, the mountains of Snowdonia and the Scottish Highland or the dramatic coastlines of west Wales and Devon. FSC believes that the more we know about the world around us the more we can appreciate its needs and protect its diversity and beauty for future generations. www.field-studies-council.org Background

Marylebone Green Playground lies in the southern section of The Regent's Park within the borough of Westminster, bordered by the Nash Terraces on the Outer Circle and the Avenue Gardens to the east. It is one of the four playgrounds in the park including Primrose Hill. The playground is next to playing fields which have hosted Frieze Art over the past few years. The playground on the current site is an enclosed space and well used. It is felt the playground facilities could be much improved for the future, providing a wider range of play features that allow more creative play and are less restrictive in the number of children that can play at one time. Funding for the refurbishment:

Following a successful application to the London Marathon Charitable Trust for funding, The Royal Parks are now in a position to make enhancements to this play facility, utilising a fund pot of approximately £125,000. This will enable a significant range of improvements to be undertaken. http://www.royalparks.org.uk/about-us/play/playground-refurbishments-and-consultations/marylebone-green-playground-refurbishment

Consultation with Primary Schools FSC approached 14 schools in close proximity to The Regent’s Park, identified using Google maps. Three schools accepted our invitation to consult. We ran six sessions with the following groups: Christ Church Bentick Primary Year 3 30 children Christ Church Bentick Primary Year 4 24 children Christ Church Bentick Primary Year 5 30 children Primrose Hill Primary Year 1 Class P 30 children Primrose Hill Primary Year 1 Class D 30 children St Vincent’s Primary Green Team 14 pupils from Reception through to Year 6 TOTAL: 158 pupils Activities:

1. We told a story about being in a playground which involved all children acting out ten pre-selected play types. Each pupil then voted on their favourite.

2. Each class split into two smaller groups to create a mood board sticking photos of the environment, equipment or people they would like to see in a playground (on the happy board) and things that they wouldn’t want to see (on the sad board).

3. In small groups of four or five, pupils drew the most exciting pieces of play equipment they could think of and then presented it to the rest of the class.

Results: We read out this story with actions to go along with the BUZZ WORDS. The children all followed the story with the actions: “I am so excited to be in my favourite playground that I do a little DANCE. I can’t decide whether to go on the SWINGS or the SLIDE first, so I JUMP over to the SANDPIT and build a great big sandcastle with a flag on top. Next, I RUN really fast over to the CLIMBING frame. I climb and climb until I’m so high I feel like I’m BALANCING like a bird in the trees. I SWING on the monkey bars and then SLIDE back down to the ground. Now I want to BUILD A DEN with all the best sticks I can find. In here I PRETEND to make a cup of tea and share it with my friends. Soon it’s time to go, so I RUN all the way home.” Then, the children voted on their favourite play type:

22%

17%

15% 14%

9%

7%

6% 4% 4% 2%

Favourite Play Types

running

swinging

climbing

dancing

balancing

pretending

sliding

den building

sandpits

Happy Mood Board

This wordle represents the photos that the majority of children voted to put on the ‘happy’ board i.e. things they would like to see in a playground. The bigger the word font the more it was voted by the children.

Sad Mood Board

This wordle represents the photos that the majority of children did not want to see in a playground.

Imaginary playground The following are just some of the fantastic drawings that the children came up with. Ideas ranged from adaptations of traditional play equipment through to fantastical ideas of famous footballers running a pet shop.

Clockwise from top: a slide which runs underneath an aquarium; a spider’s web rope climbing frame complete with spider; a tube slide; a pirate’s ship on sand with a crow’s nest; a big bouncy castle.

Top: a swing and lots of ducks Bottom: collage including a pet shop, a spinning pogo stick, a rollercoaster, arm wrestling station, yo yo shop, lots of birds and trees, a scary maze, and a bouncy castle

Top: a tree house with a slide down into a jungle area complete with fake rain and butterflies, an underground tunnel leading to a rope ladder which takes you back up into the tree house Bottom: a zip line and some fountains to walk through

Consultation in the Park: On 20th February 2013 a consultation area was set up in the Marylebone Green Playground between 10am and 2pm. Playground users, both adults and children, were asked their opinions on the plans which were provided by The Royal Parks and printed out on A1 sized boards. We also compiled a wish list of things they would like to see in the playground.

Results: Eight adults answered a questionnaire designed by The Royal Parks on general feedback about The Regent’s Park. Here is a summary of the questions that refer to the playground

0

4

1 0

8

0 1 1 1 1

As a regular visitor, why do you come to Regent's Park?

3

2 2 2

0

3

0

What's the best thing about Regent's Park?

Wishlist and general comments from adults and children in the Playground:

Play tower and slide like the one at the zoo

Shelter (like a little home) - bright stripes, green and yellow and dots and flares

Shelter to be shape of acorn, watermelon or orange and the inside should be like the inside of the particular fruit

The tower could be the shape of seashell, blue and white; a tornado twister; 11 votes for sea shell; 10 votes for a chelsea bun; 2 votes for a snail

Shelter to be in shape of a pyramid, a dinosaur or a seashell; 2 votes for tea pot; 3 votes for watermelon; 6 votes for bedroom; 11 votes for igloo

Climbing wall with a house at the top

A smaller sandpit for babies to use

Soft flooring and soft boulders for children to climb on - safety is key!

A super high castle which you climb up to

Sheltered space for adults to watch their kids in case it's raining

Just freshen up equipment with some paint and more colours

Some disabled access equipment must be included to allow for inclusivity

A long tunnel slide

A tunnel underground

A train

Portland Hospital is close by, let them know there is a playground here - some signage needed

Better toilets

Snack shack should be open

Better seating for adults and for kids

We only came to use the loo

4

1

0 0

3

1 1 1 1 1

What would encourage you to come more often to Regent's Park?

Play Audit: As part of the consultation process, The Royal Parks asked the FSC to complete their Play Audit template. This measures various aspects in the current playground. Two FSC staff members and one Royal Parks volunteer completed this audit and the mean averages are displayed below:

Results:

%

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

General Appeal 57 Adult Experience 29

Access and Inclusion 67

Health and Safety 43 Support Staff 0

Layout and design 56 Maintenance 50

Play - physical 52 Play - social 63

Play - cognitive 22 Additional play

types 33 Toddlers and

Teenagers 13 Play in the natural

environment 33