Kings Meadow: £80k Bromley playground opens after campaign

Kings Meadow Recreation Ground has had a complete revamp, with a range of brand-new pieces installed, including swings, a zip wire, and a large climbing frame.

It is a proud day for community group The Friends of King Meadow, which helped secure £50,000 funding from the National Lottery and £25,000 from Bromley Council, raising another £5,000 through crowdfunding.

Caroline Navin, Chair of Friends of Kings Meadow said, “This play area and the local park can have and has such a positive impact for our children and benefits us all and future generations too.

“This whole project has always been about improving local play facilities for local children and I am really pleased we have managed to successfully achieve this.

“We are so grateful for the community’s support throughout the project – from donations to volunteering to attending events – all of which has been key to making the new playground a reality.”

Soon after setting up as a new Friends of Parks group in January 2018, the Friends approached the Bromley Council via its park services contractor, idverde, hoping to make improvements to the grounds

Whilst the play project was being developed, the Friends group undertook its own improvements, building and planting a community flower bed, repairing perimeter fences and creating a dedicated wildlife garden.

Local people and parks visitors responded to consultation and helped create the playground specification, collated by the Friends group.

The playground was to go from a limited offering, mostly for young children, to a modern, enlarged play and recreation area, for children of all ages and abilities, complete with picnic tables, free play space, planted areas and more seating.

Then began the long road to raise funds for the project, totalling more than £80k once additional on-going maintenance costs were also factored in.

The Friends of Kings Meadow launched a crowdfunding campaign which raised over £5k.

As well as contributing to the overall funding of the project, the crowdfunding campaign enabled the community to really show its support for the project and fully get behind it.

This was highly significant when seeking grants from funders, which were interested in supporting projects determined by local people with a real interest in improving the spaces where they lived for the benefit of all.

The main grant of £50k came from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, with £25,000 of Council funding too.

Other grants were secured from Co-op Local Community Fund, Clarion Futures, idverde Community Investment Fund and The Brun Bear Foundation.

Whilst the playground is now open, over the coming weeks, the local community will see further additions to the play area.

Planting will be completed, more seating installed and there will be a permanent board to mark the opening of the playground and thank the community and all funders.

Going forward, the Friends group will be seeking feedback to the new play and recreation ground and it is hoped that once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, the Friends of Kings Meadow can continue its work in enhancing community cohesion, making park improvements and offering volunteer opportunities.