Anyone who has passed Whittons Park in recent weeks has probably noticed the construction activity, and the mud that inevitably goes with it! On Thursday 23 December LLRA met on site, with the Whittons Park playpark contractor and the city council team, to review both progress so far and work still to be completed.
The installation team are now taking a well-earned Christmas break. Most of the new play equipment has been installed, with the zip wire and agility trail still outstanding but about 80% complete. Most of the rubber and tarmac surfaces have been laid and now require some time to set.
The contractors will be back in January to complete the remaining play equipment installation and to line mark the football/basketball area and move the seating boulders into place. The inclusive roundabout area also needs additional soil added to the lower side of the hill. The major focus will be on further landscaping (an additional 60 tonnes of soil is still required on site) and then reinstatement of the grass areas. When the park is close to completion then safety certification will also be obtained.
As expected from winter working, managing the mud has been a major factor and there is a fair amount of grass re-instatement required. The key challenge will be finding the right opportunities to either returf or re-seed areas. This is heavily dependent on weather conditions. The view is still that this is likely to be completed by March 2022, when the grass growing season arrives. A judgement on when the playpark is ready to reopen will be made in February 2022.
Safety Reminder
When walking through the park please do respect any safety notices and cordoned off areas, particularly when work is in progress or construction vehicles are being used.
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