Florence Hayes Play Park

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  • Large scale play park funded by Play England for Enfield Council.
  • Design to provide an exciting and dynamic play experience.
  • Large scale structures plus features for supervised play.
  • A focal point for play in the Borough.

This was a large scale play park development, part of a managed play centre for the London Borough of Enfield.The park is named after a well-known teacher and charity worker who contributed to the lives of local people in the early part of the twentieth century and our aim was to develop the park in her spirit.

The Council’s brief was for a contemporary design that would provide an exciting and dynamic play experience for children aged from 5 to 14.The scheme was funded by Play England and their specifications influenced our design, particularly on the use of natural safe surfacing.There had been an old-fashioned playground on the site but we replaced it with a more extensive contemporary play area with more green space.

Our ground investigation showed that some of the soil was contaminated which required engineering work to cap the site before the new landscape could be put in place.Our playground design evolved from consultation with local children and incorporated some large structures to encourage freeform play.These included a multi-level timber structure, a spinning Dutch disc, a zip line and a series of large boulders.Because the play scheme was supervised we were able to include features for the play workers to use to run alternative activities.These included a fire pit, a water play feature, and a series of notched and drilled posts for use with ropes and nets.

We developed the green space and commissioned a large wooden sculpture to add interest in a quieter part of the site.We also established a vegetable garden which was motivated by local residents interest in having a growing place they could use for themselves.

The Florence Hayes Play Park is a fabulous and inspiring play area and it is great to see the activities and fun that takes place there.

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