New Play Area Opened At Heaton Park

Lakeside Adventure officially opened to local families on Monday 15 July, with a ceremony attended by Bowker Vale Primary School pupils and the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Cllr Abid Latif Chohan.

The new play area for Heaton Park will provide challenging and creative play features in a woodland environment - including swings, slides, tree houses, balancing logs and in-ground trampolines, plus materials for children to build their own wooden dens.    

Following an appeal for ideas launched via the park’s Facebook page, a public vote saw an overwhelming majority choose the name 'Lakeside Adventure.'  

After helping to build a bridge, which will be one of the play features in the new facility, pupils from Bowker Vale designed a poster to be displayed across the park, while the official name was also carved into a special wooden chair, which has been installed as a feature at the play area.

The new play area has been funded by Manchester City Council and designed by the award-winning landscape architects Davies White Ltd, with advice from Tim Gill, an independent expert on risk in play, who has previously worked on the Olympic Park in London.  

All equipment in the new play area has been independently inspected by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) prior to opening day. 

Executive Member for Skills, Culture and Leisure, Councillor Luthfur Rahman, said: “Outdoor play helps our children to learn, develop new skills and make new friends, which is essential for their physical and mental well-being.  This is why we’ve invested in Lakeside Adventure, which will be at the heart of countless great family trips out to one of the UK’s greatest parks in the future.

“Children love to be imaginative as well as active and this play area will fuel their curiosity, allowing them to happily explore and learn about the natural world, all within an attractive and safe environment at Heaton Park.”