Wave 2

Playbuilder Grant

Arun District Council application for

Lions Den Play Area, Littlehampton

May 2009

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Arun District Council Wave 2 funding application

1.0 CONTACT INFORMATION

1.1 Name of organisation applying for the grant

Arun District Council

1.2 Lead person responsible for the delivery of the scheme

Philippa Dart

1.3 Contact details of lead person/organisation

Head of Parks & Greenspace,

Arun District Council,

Bognor Regis Town Hall,

Clarence Road,

Bognor Regis,

West Sussex

PO21 1LD

Tel: 01903 737913

Email: [email address]

2.0 INFORMATION ON THE PROPOSED SITE

2.1 Name of the scheme and name by which the site is known

Lions Den Play Area

2.2 Site address

East Green

Littlehampton

BN17 5GB

2.3 Site owner

Arun District Council

2.4 Is planning permission required?

No

2.5 What is the nature of the development?

Significant refurbishment/extension

2.6 Proposed completion date and date of opening to the public

Completion March 2010, opening 31st of March 2010

2.7 Please indicate what access routes are available for the site and if there are any safety issues associated with accessibility. Please confirm all access routes are suitable for children and young people with special needs especially in relation to any associated mobility issues.

The site is wheelchair accessible along Littlehampton promenade and from Littlehampton Town Centre across Sea Road. This is a 30mph speed limit road, with a pedestrian crossing point 200 yards East of Lions Den play area. Although traffic can be busy along this road, particularly during the summer when tourists flock to the Town, there have never been any reports of access issues for this site.

The train station at Littlehampton is around a 15 minute walk from the site, and there are local bus routes that stop within a few hundred yards of the site as well.

2.8 Details of any future developments that could affect the scheme

East Green & Lions Den play area is specifically protected as public open space in ADC's Local Plan under Policy Area 5 which covers the protection of open space:

“The District Council will protect public and private open spaces, playing fields, outdoor sports facilities and children's play facilities from development other than associated recreational development.”

The location is identified on the attached plan.

3.0 Partnerships - Matched Funding

3.1 Name any partners involved in the proposed scheme

None

3.2 Details of any proposed associated match funding

N/A

3.3 Are the playbuilder funds being used to support a larger scheme?

No

3.4 If applicable please indicate at what stage you are at in securing any match funding

N/A

4.0 THE SCHEME

4.1 Who is the scheme aimed at and which local schools, housing estates and areas will the scheme provide for?

The site in question is already extremely popular with both local people and visitors to Littlehampton. Its prime location on Littlehampton sea front means that it is extremely busy during the summer months, and any improvement to the site would continue to serve this demographic.

The site is in River Ward, Littlehampton which is one of the Local Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (LNIA's) within Arun.

Local schools that could make use of an improved play area include Elm Grove Infants, Connaught Junior, St Catherines Primary, Flora McDonald Junior , Wickbourne Infants and Arun Vale Infants schools.

4.2 What are the identified needs that you are aiming to address via this scheme and how have/will you identify these needs?

Arun contains a number of Wards which fare poorly in comparison with a number of national and regional statistics including the low life expectancy, low income, high housing prices, low educational attainment.

There are a number of local strategies that through consultation with local people and organisations identified the needs of local people within Arun. It is our aim to help deliver a scheme that will meet these needs.

These include Arun's Sustainable Community Strategy, Community Cohesion Strategy, and Every Young Person in Arun Matters.

These identified needs include:

This gives us framework to base our concept and project delivery on, and by direct consultation at the design stage the scheme will have addressed all of the identified needs by the time it is complete.

Arun's Play Strategy `Big Play in Arun' and the Government Department of Children, Schools and Families National Play Strategy also identify a number of needs and set objectives to meet these. These objectives are discussed in section 5.9

4.3 How do/have you propose/d to engage potential users of the scheme in the design, development and implementation of the scheme?

We plan to engage current and potential users through various advertised consultation exercises in the design and development stage. Our Landscape team have a lot of previous experience consulting on play refurbishment schemes, skate park refurbishments and extensive planting schemes.

A key aspect of this consultation will be to provide sufficient information on the ideas behind inclusive/natural play to our target audiences as this is likely to be a concept that they are unfamiliar with and may not embrace initially.

In June this year as part of a Big Lottery Fund initiative Arun's Parks & Greenspace Service is employing two `Play Rangers' whose aim is to facilitate exiting outdoor/environmental play in the deprived wards of Wick and Bersted. One of the key roles of these posts will be to observe and monitor the types of play that children engage in differing environments and to use this knowledge alongside direct consultation with users of the play ranger scheme and other local children to further influence the designs of the scheme.

There will be an obvious opportunity to consult with current users whilst on site and this will be achieved through a consultation day held at the site during June/July. The event will have a stand manned by Parks staff, showing concept designs and ideas and with an interactive element (for example samples of natural materials) and will allow users to comment on all aspects of the principal and specific design elements.

It will also be important to try and reach those people and minority groups who may not ordinarily access the scheme. This would be done using various partners for of the Arun Community Cohesion Group for example the Expanding Communities Team who can identify specific groups to target and how best to achieve this.

In terms of the implementation it would certainly be of benefit to involve potential users to help create a further sense of ownership. See section 5.7 for details of how we plan to achieve this.

4.4 How have/will you determine where the best location is for the scheme?

The current play area (LEAP) which we plan to extend and enhance using this funding is already situated in a very popular area on Littlehampton sea front.

This area provides the opportunity to create an additional play space by taking up an area of grass that currently has no specific purpose.

4.5 How will the placement of the scheme complement its surroundings?

Because there is already a good quality equipment based play facility on this site as well as other recreational and leisure attractions along Littlehampton sea front, an extension of this area will not alter the feel of the area.

50 yards from the play area is the award winning East Beach Café, famous for its conceptual design representing driftwood this scheme would complement it well.

4.6 What are the key elements to the scheme - what are you aiming to provide?

The key to this scheme is that it provides an opportunity for all age ranges but particularly 8-13 year olds to enjoy, play, interact and learn all in an outdoor environment.

Another key aim is that the refurbishment in keeping with the local landscape/history/geology to create a sense of place that offers an opportunity to direct or facilitate play by providing themed structured areas, but also provides an opportunity for imaginative play and innovation in open spaces that have the potential to evolve depending on use and the local needs.

We aim to provide shade and static form by using natural structures such as plants and rocks, as well as man made structures that compliment a nautical theme in keeping with the area for example ship wrecks, a lighthouse, and sea creatures. Loose materials which compliment the natural landscape such as sand will also be used to provide a moveable, interactive play opportunity within the setting.

It is also our aim to make the scheme as accessible and beneficial as possible to those with disabilities by removing physical barriers and by using the elements above. It will also be key to meet the needs of carers and parents too by providing facilities whereby they can relax, talk and interact with others.

4.7 What are the different types of play that will be offered?

4.8 What are the key outcomes you aim to achieve and for whom?

An all inclusive play space providing an array of fixed play equipment and natural materials/play features which strikes the correct balance between risk and benefit and which will ultimately benefit the local people and visitors particularly 8-13 year olds, and be a source of pride/focal point for large parts of the community.

4.9 What other facilities if any, are associated to or are located on the proposed site?

The site is well located on Littlehampton Sea front, with various facilities situated close by. These include the award winning East Beach café, Norfolk Leisure Gardens (pitch & putt course, tennis courts, adventure golf, tennis) and Windmill entertainment centre.

The Lions Den play area itself contains range of modern toddler/junior play equipment and ancillary items, contained by weldmesh fencing.

4.10 Approximately how many children within 8-13 years age range do you anticipate accessing the site and what if known is that as a percentage to the whole population of that age range that the scheme will provide for?

Residents 2,500 per annum (approx 20%) of 8-13 year olds

Tourists 3,500 + per annum

4.11 Please indicate any particular groups of children/young people, if any do you intend to benefit from the scheme in relation to Black and minority ethnic groups, travellers etc?

Littlehampton has a high population of Portuguese and Eastern European migrant workers/communities who have arrived over the last few years. We have already marketed Hotham Park in Bognor Regis and Mewsbrook Park in Littlehampton to these communities by working with the Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) Expanding Communities Team who produce newsletters in 5 different languages containing all sorts of information on the local area. We would look to use this avenue to advertise the improved play facilities to these groups, and to invite minority groups to any consultation events.

4.12 How will you accommodate necessary changes to the site over time to continue to meet the identified needs of users?

We will continue to consult with users of the site on a yearly basis to identify any concerns or needs. The incorporation of `slack' spaces in to the scheme will allow for potential evolution of the space and will also allow an area for children to use their own imagination in how they make use of the area.

4.13 Is there additional space on the site for open/flexible usage and how will you continue to engage with users over these changes over time?

As above

4.14 How will you deal with any emerging issues between different users of the site in relation to bullying, harassment, community conflict and so forth?

Arun has both a Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership & Community Cohesion Group in place made up of representatives for various partner organisations such as the Local Strategic Partnership, Sussex Police, Arun District Council and the Voluntary sector. Any issues which fall within the remits of these groups can be fed in to the various channels available (e.g expanding communities team, Joint Action Group) to ensure they are dealt with effectively through the appropriate channels.

4.15 What natural elements are you proposing to incorporate in to your scheme e.g natural features, landscaping and so forth, and how will these create a wide range of play opportunities?

Please see the attached plan illustrating the proposed scheme.

We will look to incorporate the following natural features that can provide a play opportunity as an individual feature or as part of a collective broader landscape.

Loosefill material e.g Sand

Monoliths

Stone

Shrubs/Herbaceous Plants

Wood

These different features which provide a range of textures, shapes, smells, form and character which by their very nature provide a wide range of play opportunities to facilitate the different types of play identified in section 4.7 of this application.

5.0 ASSOCIATED DETAILS

5.1 Please give clear details of how you will manage the health & safety of all aspects of the scheme including the build

Design phase

This is guided by the Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide. The play area has been designed to these principles; that there will be a balance between the risks and benefits of the facilities provided within the new scheme.

Construction phase

Health and safety is managed in a number of ways during this phase.

Contractors selection - only contractors who are recognised as experienced in play area construction and certificated through Construction Line and /or CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) will be selected to tender work relating to the play equipment installation.

CDM Regulations - the regulation will not apply to this project however the principles to manage Health and Safety will apply during the project. This includes the production of a design risk register for contractors to provide a method statement against the identified risks during this phase.

The project will be managed by the Parks and Greenspace Landscape section which includes Chartered Landscape Architects who are qualified to project manage all aspects of the construction including the health and safety issues.

Following implementation of the scheme, the site will continue to be inspected on a weekly basis by Council Officers, trained in play area inspection. Once per month a full engineers inspection will be carried out. (see 5.3 for details of maintenance contracts)

Arun District Council also contacts Zurich insurance services to undertake 6 monthly inspections of all its play areas, as well as commissioning a full independent risk assessment every two years.

5.2 Please give details of how you will achieve the risk benefit balance within the design of the scheme

By applying and considering the principles of the risk/benefit Play England guide publication to our designs specifically Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation Guide, and using industry experts to formally risk assess the proposals prior to works.

5.3 Please give details of the proposed maintenance schedule for the scheme that you will complete within a years cycle, as a maximum if applicable

Arun District Council has in place a flexible play area maintenance and repairs contract with Foster Playscapes (a local experienced play area company whom has been working with Arun a for over 12 years) and who operate full time between Monday to Friday and via emergency call out at weekends.

A mobile unit carries out required repairs and maintenance guided by the results of weekly inspections carried out by Arun engineers and Parks staff trained in playground inspections. Any faults that pose a serious Health & Safety risk will be phoned through directly to the repairs team an can normally be dealt with in as little as 30 minutes to one hour. Arun's Parks Manager meets weekly with Foster Playscapes to run through the actions & priorities following inspections.

5.4 Please give details of how you will fund the above maintenance schedule in both the short and long term and how you will achieve long term sustainability especially in relation to capital funding for future developments and adaptations to the play space

Because Arun has in place contract with Foster Playscapes which runs to 2012 as a minimum (with the option to extend to 2017) the budget for play area maintenance is secured. This budget also allows enough flexibility to purchase replacement items of play equipment, and for adaptations. In addition to this a small sum of capital budget is available to replace larger items.

5.5 Please give details of how you plan to complete refurbishments of the play space incorporating natural materials suitable to the scheme

Arun's Parks & Greenspace Service has an in house `tree gang' who are fully qualified in Arboricultural operations. Therefore we have access to local sources of wood, which can be sculptured if required.

Our Landscape team are experienced in complex landscape design and can identify and source a wide range of natural materials such as stones, trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, both locally and from further a field.

Local volunteers and community groups will be invited to become involved in aspects of the build such as planting.

5.6 Please give details of how the scheme links to other associated strategies such as your local community safety strategy, local antisocial behaviour initiatives, local community transport schemes and local community cohesion initiatives. Critically how will you look to meet the needs of all children and young people in relation to any identified needs of disabled or other minority groups targeted within this scheme, and how will you overcome any known social barriers that may prevent certain groups from accessing the play space safely.

These strategies and their link to this scheme have been explained in section 4.2 of this application

Key stakeholders such as Arun's Community Cohesion Group, Expanding Communities team, West Sussex PCT, Inspire Leisure and Police will all be consulted at the initial and design phase of this project to help identify minority groups that would benefit from the scheme but that may not ordinarily access it, and these groups will also be key following completion of the scheme in terms of helping to promote and facilitate the scheme as accessible to all.

5.7 What opportunities will you provide for the potential users of the site to volunteer in the design, construction and maintenance of the playspace?

If this outline bid is accepted we will look to hold a consultation event with both current users and potential users of the space to consider and input in to the detailed and specific design proposals (see section 4.3 for details).

In terms of the construction, volunteer involvement will be a key to creating a sense of ownership and pride amongst users, and we will encourage this as much as possible within the boundaries of health & safety legislation. Ideal tasks for volunteers would include planting for example.

In terms of maintenance as previously outlined Arun has contracts in place to deal with maintenance issues and would not encourage volunteers to attempt repairs or any other works that may either be hazardous to themselves or present a future risk to users. However it is envisaged that there would be ongoing opportunities in terms of horticultural maintenance and litter picking that would encourage users to take a sense of pride in the area.

5.8 Please give details of how you will manage the implementation of the scheme in specific relation to your capital programme and procurement procedures/policies. You will need to illustrate compliance with standing orders if you are a local authority and/or what your standing orders are if you are a voluntary and community sector organisation. Critically you will need to clearly illustrate the timeline including key milestones for the consultation, design, development and implementation of the whole scheme.

As previously stated the scheme will be managed through the Landscape section of Parks and Greenspace.

Cabinet approval will be required for the expenditure of this sum; a report concerning the applications and the government funding available through the Playbuilder Grant has been / is being produced.

The Council's standing order requires that work expected to cost in excess of £40,000 will need to be advertised for formal tender. Schemes below this sum require a minimum of 3 quotes.

A standard form of contract such as the JCLI will be used together with a detailed specification of works. The contract will be managed

Please see attached project programme illustrating a timeline for the implementation of the scheme.

5.9 Critically demonstrate how this scheme meets the key objectives/outcomes of your local and National Play Strategy

This scheme will help deliver many small scale:short term and large scale:long term objectives from both Arun's local play strategy and national guidance.

Big Play in Arun `an accessible play strategy for the district' and Arun accessible Play Strategy 2005 identifies Littlehampton as an area high in deprivation and having a desperate shortage of quality accessible play space for local children. It specifically identifies Lions Den as a key site to upgrade in terms of encouraging inclusive play.

A key all encompassing objective from the strategy is to `ensure play environments are attractive, welcoming and accessible to every child irrespective of age, gender, background or origin, or of individual capacities and abilities' and offering them `rich and stimulating environments to explore through their freely chosen play on their own and crucially with others'

This scheme and our subsequent management of it will also meet key short, medium and long term objectives from the National Play Strategy (DCSF published Dec 2008) which very much reflects our objectives on a local level too. These include;

5.10 How will you keep the wider community and other interested parties, including local 3rd sector organisations updated on the developments

Arun has a dedicated Public relations team who advise and draft press releases for the local media on subjects of public interest. This would certainly provide an opportunity to keep the public updated on progress. The PR team also produce the Arun Times magazine which is a bi annual magazine distributed to every household in the District.

Arun's Parks Manager sits on the steering group of the Arun Wellbeing Project and attends Arun Wellbeing & Health Partnership meetings, as well as Joint Action Group (JAG) meetings (JAG reports to the CDRP), which would provide an ideal opportunity to disseminate information to West Sussex PCT, Sussex Police and local carers organisations for example.

Other channels available include Town/Parish Council/ADC liaison meetings, the Joint Eastern/Western Area Committees, Local friends/volunteers groups who work alongside the Parks & Greenspace Service such as the East Beach Residents Association and Beach Town Action Group both local to the proposed scheme.

6.0 FINANCIAL COSTS

6.1 Please provide a clear breakdown of the estimated costs for the scheme and the amount of funds if any that are to beused for professional fees. The costs should also include estimates for the appropriate signage that will need to be erected within the playspace

No professional fees are proposed - all work is being designed and project managed in-house.

6.2 If you are utilising these funds as part of a larger scheme then please give costs for the whole scheme

N/A

6.3 Please clearly illustrate when you will be able to provide actual costs and agree a final funding total for the scheme (this should be no longer than two months from the submission bid)

The final estimated costs will be provided following the consultation period for the scheme in July 2009. The award of the tender is due in November 2009 when the final costs of the scheme will be clarified. Please see attached timeline.

6.4 Please provide a statement of why you feel that this scheme is cost effective in relation to the outcomes it will achieve

There are a number of measures we are taking to ensure that this scheme provides value for money. We will use of materials available locally where possible - including excess materials from Engineers coastal defence schemes, and the use of timber from Parks and Greenspace sites. The use of volunteers to carry out works will also to help reduce labour costs of the scheme.

The work to install major parts of the play area will be tendered for by way of competitive tendering through Arun District Council's normal procurement processes.

All plants will be sourced at trade costs, or available free of charge grown through volunteers at our small nursery site based at Hotham Park. The scheme will also cut out the need for expenditure on any professional fees associated with project as all skills required to manage project are available in house which allows all funds to be concentrated on the build itself.

7.0 MONITORING & EVALUATION

7.1 Please give details on how you will monitor the implementation of the scheme through to completion, indicating clearly the key milestones

As described above the work to install the play area will be project managed by the landscape architects through to completion. Please see attached timeline.

7.2 Please give details of how you will monitor on an ongoing basis the satisfaction of users of the playspace

We have a dedicated Senior Community Parks Officer responsible for this site and other staff (play rangers, landscape officers) who make regular visits to the site. It would be easy for us to have regular communication with users of the site using a simply formulated questionnaire. We could also use channels such as our website that would allow users to voice their opinions on the play area.

7.3 Please give details of how you will evaluate and measure the outcomes and impacts the scheme has produced in both the initial phase to completion and thereafter with both direct users of the playspace and the wider community

As a starting point we clearly will need to collect baseline data prior to the scheme beginning. We endeavour to this by monitoring user numbers at regular intervals and at key times of the week. A likely monitoring strategy would involve a head count of users, parents/carers once every two weeks at the following times;

During school (weekday)

After school (weekday)

Weekend

School holidays

We could then compare this data to data recorded in both the initial phase to completion and thereafter. We could also use customer satisfaction results (initially taken at the consultation phase as described in section 4.3) and compare them to customer satisfaction following completion of the project.

Arun DC also has a channel known as the Wavelength Survey available to us, which would allow us to gauge reaction from a random selection of local residents which would include non users of the site to gauge their perceptions and any impact the scheme may have had on them.

At East Beach there is also a strong community involvement in the area in the form of the East Beach Residents Association and Beach Town Action Group. Both of these groups have members who are separate from Arun DC, but through their positions will have a very good understanding and appreciation of the impact of such a scheme has had.

Arun District Council Wave 2 funding application, Lions Den Play Area