Revamp joy Park finally gets new playground
ANEW playground in Lawrence Hill is complete and officially opened yesterday. Newtown Park, which is between Hassell Drive and the Bristol and Bath Railway Park, had not been updated for 18 years and residents say it has been a battle to get the long-awaited play equipment installed.
The new playpark, which now has separate areas for younger and older children, received Community Infrastructure Levy funding in 2019 and 2021 and additional cash from Old Market Forum. With support from UWE architecture students, the residents worked on designing the new playground and are currently planning a celebratory event to mark its completion.
Residents’ group Newtown Network is now seeking additional funding for lighting in the park. The area hit the headlines three years ago after a stabbing in the area left a young man dead and residents hope that the lighting will be a step towards reducing on-going antisocial behaviour in the area.
Central government cuts to local council budgets means that Bristol City Council has seen its funding for parks reduced by around two thirds since 2010. The need for lighting as a safety measure for parks was addressed in the council’s parks and green spaces strategy document that was brought to cabinet in March.
Several other play parks in Bristol
have seen improvements over the past year, including Eastville Park and Hengrove Park. Eastville Park
now has a new climbing frame, swings and a zip wire, while Hengrove Park had its dome structure repaired. Resident and Newtown Network member Debbie Benjamin said: “It’s thanks to the hard work of the residents who secured the CIL money and designed the playpark that the work has been completed after 18 years of neglect. It was a battle to get the new playground and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the Old Market Forum who provided us with match funding and UWE architecture students who supported us with the designs.
“The next step is to get funding for lighting which the park still doesn’t have. Antisocial behaviour is the biggest problem in Newtown and lighting in the park can act as a deterrent to that.”
Bristol City Council has been approached for a comment.