Iron-age inspiration for new playground

Work has started on a new £328,000 play area in Kingsnorth, that is set to include a mega slide, play fort and high swing.

Kestrel Park, next to Coulter Road, is surrounded by natural meadows and ancient woodland dating back to the Iron Age, so the park has made links with Ashford environmental groups to protect the native wildlife.

The play equipment design has been inspired by the site’s Iron Age significance and there will be a commemorative plaque to honour the RAF servicemen that were killed there in a 1944 bombing.

Landscaping work is expected to last until October and the play equipment is set to be installed in early spring 2017, after which it will open to users.

Cllr Jessamy Blanford, Ashford Borough Council portfolio holder for culture and the environment, said: “This project provides an exciting opportunity to create a new and very attractive open space in an area that has previously been short of community facilities.

“I am particularly pleased that it will provide older children with a safe place to play and explore and it is an example of great partnership working between Ashford Borough Council, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and the parish councils.”

The park has been funded by s ecti on 1 0 6 contributions collected from nearby developments.

An artist’s impression of the new Kestrel Park play area