community


factor. The court is in near constant use by local players. London Lions star Lamar Roberts, whose Right Development Foundation will be funded by London Sport to deliver a Sport England Satellite Club from the location, was full of praise at the official opening of the site. An additional area sits next to the


mix and play together, a genuine multi-use games area, not an any one game and one group at a time area.” It was also clear that further consultation


was needed to give local people a sense of ownership in the project. “I agreed with Lisa, that if she could run


consultation events and generate enthusiasm, feedback and ideas for this project, then I would pull together members of the Urban Sports Group, who could provide Lisa with the tools and knowledge to inform and educate the community on the decisions they would be making,” explains Roebuck. Urban Sports Group members


PlayInnovation and The Great Outdoor Gym Company came on board after one meeting, producing free designs for the project as more than 400 residents were engaged in a consultation process. People were asked what they would like to


see in their local park. PlayInnovation used these ideas to develop various designs for the park and people were asked to choose their preferred option.


inclusive sport and play Playinnovation believed the close proximity of the old play area and basketball court to each other was the perfect opportunity to create a family inclusive sport and play area where children, young people and adults could feel inspired to visit, stay active and co-exist in a safe community environment. The playground therefore benefits from


colourful multi play units, swings for all ages and abilities, an inclusive roundabout and toddler zones for role play. To the far side of the playground, a line of


architectural spheres and blocks lead to a smart gym zone from The Great Outdoor Gym Company, where users can use a free app to log and track their workouts. In addition, the equipment gathers smart data on the usage and analyses the data which can be collected to prove a return on investment. Adjacent to the gym zone and close to the


grassed area, an outdoor table tennis table has been installed and is already in good use by local children and parents. The park also features a Playinnovation Hype


Court with transparent backboards and hoops designed to create a basketball court with wow


18 pactfacilities.co.uk


basketball court featuring fun and educational target games Crossbar King, Goal Master and Street Pool for more family fun. The space also features a Wallball and an additional basketball post and backboard in funky translucent yellow acrylic which reflects the sunlight onto the tarmac at various times of the day. The design of the new play, games and


gym areas has created a social activity hub suitable for the whole family.


funding support The project was made possible thanks to a variety of funding sources. “I supported Lisa and Avril through the first


bids to key funders such as Veolia and the London Marathon Charitable Trust, but they led on the pulling together of those applications. By the last few, they didn’t need to refer to me anymore, which is great. My job is to be a catalyst, before moving on to support someone else,” says Roebuck. The funding totalled £269,598, £140,000 of


which was provided by The London Marathon Charitable Trust. The remaining funds came from Veolia (£59,999), Sport England (£25,000), crowdfunding (£5,599) and match funding from Barking and Dagenham Council (£39,000). The London Marathon Charitable Trust also provided a further £10,000 to help meet the cost of providing organised sport and recreation sessions at the new facility and


Table Tennis England donated a Ping! Table. “From a London Sport perspective, we’ve


learned a lot about the process of ‘working with’ rather than ‘working for’, and we’ve been able to share the experiences of Avril and Lisa across London, hopefully to influence how other boroughs consider their park redevelopments, healthy streets or really any spaces that can be used for informal sport,” says Roebuck.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41