New Play Area almost complete

New Play Area
The new enlarged play area at the Abbey Meadows is almost complete. Over the last three or four months children have been watching it take shape.
New Play Area
The Vale of White Horse District Council said when work began that the £320,000 play area would open early summer (weather dependent) and would feature a Grand Abbey climbing area and an ‘Abingdon Lock’ river scene.
New Play Area
Some features from the past have survived. The trusty rocking horse was getting a coat of red paint over the weekend.
New Play Area
The well and some of the walls from the Crazy Golf have also survived in the new design.
New Play Area
There is lots of new equipment, for a wider age range than before. The tennis courts are now a kick about area.

The only thing I can see missing is the children.

17 thoughts on “New Play Area almost complete

  1. Captainkaos2

    However, looks like summers here and work on renovating the open air swimming pool has been abandoned?

    Reply
  2. Dave

    The open air swimming pool was scheduled to be worked on after the play area has been completed, which sensibly avoided the situation of the Abbey Meadow being taken over by workmen.
    The play area looks a treat and will soon be put to good use by those it was designed for, the youngsters of Abingdon on Thames.
    I to look forward to the renovation of the pool, but lets look on the bright side for a moment and enjoy our new, and much needed, play area.

    Reply
  3. Birdy's mum

    This looks great and my children can’t wait for it to open, hoping it will be in time for half term. Such a great park for Abingdon. Now we need a mobile coffee stand for the parents 🙂

    Reply
  4. Iain

    Play park looks an excellent update, sure the kids will love it. Well done to those concerned at VoWHDC

    Reply
  5. Captainkaos2

    Still don’t understand why the swimming pool hasn’t been worked on? If it wasn’t possible to get the work done by the start of the season then surely it would have been better to have left it as it was and opened it for the summer?

    Reply
  6. Daniel

    Rudi, i can confirm that the park was in much need of an update; or perhaps more accurately, Abingdon was deserving of an updated park.

    I can’t understand the situation with the pool either. It is a jewel in the Abingdon crown, along with the river that should set it apart from similar clone towns for miles and miles around.

    Reply
  7. Iain

    We spend an awful lot of time on this site collectively slagging off people for not doing enough for the town, maybe ocassionally we should give them a break and congratulate them when they do something good

    Reply
  8. Kelly Simpson

    Captainkaos2 – while I completely agree it’s a shame the pool isn’t done and open for this summer, but I understand it couldn’t have just been left and used this year as it was unsafe.

    Reply
  9. Captainkaos2

    Kelly, I agree if it’s unsafe then it should not re open until it’s been made good, I get that – but iwe were told the pool revamp was all part of and included in the renovation of the Abbey Medow, we were also told funds had been ringfenced for the project, so why wasn’t work started at the same time as the play area was? It’s been closed for the best part of 8 months, plenty of time to do the work.
    What worries me is if it remains closed all summer the Vale may just get the notion it’s not worth re-opening?
    Smacks of Upper Reaches, Civic Hall, Old Abbey House etc?

    Reply
  10. Badger

    backstreeter – I cycled past earlier and there seems to have been a large delivery of children… much enjoyment of new play area in progress!
    All looks rather good, it does seem a shame that the pool is closed for the summer, I look forward to using it next year as long as the project actually happens and it doesn’t go the way of the Guildhall.

    Reply
  11. Kelly Simpson

    The official line re the pool is that they didn’t do it at the same time as the play area so that the whole area didn’t look like a building site. Personally I think it would have been better to get it all over with in one go so the pool could open this summer.

    Reply
  12. Badger

    Kelly Simpson – Exactly, that or make it safe to use for this Summer and then start the works in September, everyone I talk to about the pool thinks it’s madness to not have it open now. It all screams a lack of joined up thinking but I’m sure their excuse would be budgetary constraints as usual.

    Reply
  13. Chris John

    Good to see the new play equipment being enjoyed, however what concerned me later in the evening was the older teenagers miss using the equipment. I just hope that the area is not vandalised but I fear it’s on the cards looking at the low life that was hanging round making a nuisance of themselves.

    Reply
  14. Hester

    I have seen on another Abingdon forum that there are problems with (probably) teenagers leaving debris, including broken glass, there at night. Thankfully some public-spirited parents have been clearing it up, but hopefully the Vale will put arrangements in place to sort this. The pattern seems to be that a new place comes into fashion for the youngsters to hang out – it lasts for a while, then they move on – it is just a pity that some of them behave irresponsibly…

    Reply
  15. Daniel

    Thank you Kelly. Good to hear what might be “the official line”. That said… typically, it sounds like a bizarre and ill thought out line to follow. Still…we pay them, they take our money, so i guess they know best.

    Reply

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