Seven parks in Bristol are set to get a £1.6 million boost to help them support new housing developments. Thousands of new homes are being built across the city, adding to pressure on all sorts of local public services, including parks.
Bristol City Council is planning to spend £1,631,000 on upgrading facilities in the parks, such as play equipment. The parks set for investment are spread throughout Bristol in places like Hengrove, Windmill Hill, Lawrence Weston and St Pauls.
Most of the money is coming from the community infrastructure levy, which property developers pay towards the council to help local public services cope with extra demand. The cabinet is expected to sign off the cash during a public meeting on Tuesday, April 4.
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A cabinet report said: “As the city grows and our successful housing delivery programme results in more homes and more people visiting and benefiting from their local parks, there is a need for us to respond by investing in quality and new facilities — particularly in those green spaces close to new housing areas.”
Hengrove Play Park will see £300,000 spent on improving the cafe and providing new equipment at the play park. Separately, a large part of this park, on the old airport, will soon be built on. Plans include demolishing the Bristol Family Cycling Centre and nearby running track, to make way for new apartments.
The park at Argyle Road, in Speedwell, will see £127,000 spent on improving the children’s play area. St Agnes Park in St Pauls will also see £110,000 spent on improving the children’s play area, including a new multi-climber play feature.
Oldbury Court Estate will see £500,000 spent on improving access and upgrading the play park. This includes replacing broken and missing equipment, such as the pirate ship. Rawnsley Park, in St Judes, will see £153,000 spent on “significantly upgrading” the play park, with new equipment, safety surfacing and improving boundaries and access.
Green spaces in Lawrence Weston will see £250,000 spent on sport and physical activity facilities, and enabling access. This includes a new children’s play area at Beverston Gardens.
Victoria Park will see £191,000 spent on improving facilities that “encourage access and participation in play, sport and physical activity”, although it’s not yet clear what the details of these are. Thousands of new homes are being built near the park, as part of the massive Bedminster Green and Whitehouse Street regeneration developments.
