Published on Monday 02 March 2026
Our green spaces team is hard at work putting play spaces back at the heart of communities as part of BCP Council’s multi-million, multi-year Plan for Play strategy.
The ambitious vision is the Council’s largest ever investment into play repairs and refurbishment and will see improvements at more than 120 play spaces - giving children and young people the best opportunities to thrive in sustainable, high-quality play spaces.
Below is the latest update from Martin Whitchurch (BCP Council’s green spaces lead), Cllr Sandra Moore (portfolio holder with responsibility for play strategy) and Cllr Andy Hadley (portfolio holder with responsibility for parks and gardens).
In recent weeks we’ve been able to resurface Kingston Road playpark, in Poole, and install new swings at Churchill Gardens, in Boscombe, as we bring both sites back into use for local communities.
We’ve also installed new equipment Seafield Gardens and Moordown Rec with work in both play areas undertaken by our internal parks works teams.
Behind the scenes, designs for the refurbishments of play spaces in Noyce Gardens, Mallard Road and Muscliff are being progressed to ensure more children and young people have access to high-quality play areas.
With that in mind it felt like a perfect time to update you on where we are at with Plan for Play, the progress we’ve made to date and, most excitingly, our next steps throughout 2026.
We know just how important good play spaces are for our communities. They are places where children make friends, parents catch-up, and imaginations run wild: for many of us they are the foundation of our strongest childhood memories and friendships.
That’s why we’re proud to be delivering on our multi-year refurbishment strategy, Plan for Play, which will see £4.4million into more than 120 play areas across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
As you can imagine, this isn’t something that we can achieve overnight and the strategy is a multi-year approach that prioritises repairs and refurbishments at the sites with the highest demand and where improvement is needed most.
The green spaces team of landscape architects, project managers and operational colleagues who inspect and install equipment are regularly out in play spaces and parks, whether surveying a site and discussing improvements with users, or installing new swing seats and roundabout bearings.
Regular updates on where the improvements are taking place can be found on the BCP green spaces social media profiles, project website and updates are in the BCP Council weekly residents’ newsletter.
More than 600 residents took part in our consultation last summer and that feedback has directly influenced our plans. Thanks to those ideas, we’ve already seen:
- New equipment and essential repairs across sites – from replacing steps at Haskell’s Rec and a new swing at Green Road to improving the slide at Littlemoor Avenue and repairing the goal at Seafield Road
- Major refurbishment at Queen’s Park – including a new fort and improved accessibility
- Early improvements at Moordown Rec and Mallard Road – guided by resident priorities
- Additional funding unlocked through partners and stakeholders – meaning we can deliver improvements at even more play spaces
Cllr Andy Hadley said: “We’ve now been able to publish a revised improvement plan, inspired by the ideas from local children, young people and families, outlining the major upgrades scheduled for the next year – alongside a playground-by-playground update on what work will be carried and during which phase of investment.
“In the coming months there will be full-scale replacement and refurbishments at Treasure Island, Anchor Close, Kings Park, Mallard Road and Noyce Gardens – as well as repairs and improvements at dozens of other sites across our three towns.”
“Behind the scenes, our team is working closely with designers and suppliers to make sure each play space reflects the needs of its neighbourhood. We’re also exploring further funding opportunities and supporting community groups who want to get involved.”
Cllr Sandra Moore added: “We know that what matters most to communities is not necessarily our overall plans but specifically about the play spaces they and their families use the most: that’s why we’re making sure we share regular updates highlighting work as and when it happens.
“To keep up with that progress, residents can follow BCP Greenspaces on social media, sign-up for our specific Plan for Play newsletter, or receive our weekly resident news emails.
“Together, our team is creating welcoming, imaginative and inclusive play spaces for children and families to enjoy for generations to come – and I’m really proud of how we’re transforming local play spaces to better serve their communities”