Residents Invited to Vote on New Cintra Park Playground Designs

READING Borough Council is inviting residents to vote on their preferred design for the refurbishment of Cintra Park’s Children’s Playground in south Reading.

Cintra Park is set to benefit from an £85k investment to refurbish and improve the children’s playground with a mix of equipment to suit children of all ages and abilities. 

The planned revamp will include two new inclusive multi-units, one for toddlers and one for juniors. It will also see the addition of equipment such as an accessible roundabout, a see-saw and slide. The surfacing of and access into the playground will also be improved.

The Council invited several leading specialist companies to put forward their designs for the refurbishment of the playground. The Council received three submissions from bidders, which have all been shortlisted for public consultation.

The shortlisted designs will be displayed as part of an online-only public consultation of residents and children in the surrounding area, running between 14^th December 2020 and 6th January 2021 at www.reading.gov.uk/cintra-park.

The proposed designs will be displayed at schools and nurseries in the local area for children to see, encouraging them to vote for their favourite. Information will also be shared with parents and guardians. Posters will also be displayed at Cintra Park site to advertise the public vote, as well as across social media and the council’s website.

To ensure that votes are cast by local residents, voters will need to enter their home address and postcode. They will also be able to add their own comments on the designs when voting.

The winning design will be announced on the 8^th January 2021 and be ready for use in Spring 2021.

Karen Rowland, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Culture, Heritage and Recreation, said:

“We recognise that parks are one of the most valued amenities in Reading, and now more than ever, our outdoor spaces are so important. 

“The provision of high-quality and accessible equipment for young people in as many of our parks as possible remains a key priority for us. I am therefore delighted that the Disabled Play Access Panel is also contributing their thoughts regarding these proposals to ensure that even our smaller neighbourhood playgrounds are providing accessible opportunities for disabled children and carers both. 

“This is an exciting and worthwhile investment and will benefit large numbers of local neighbourhood children for years to come. 

“I’m delighted that we are able to put such a significant sum into Cintra Park, and I’m very pleased we’ve been able to engage with local people and school children in voting for their favourite designs. I want to encourage local residents to check out our shortlisted designs online at www.reading.gov.uk/cintra-park, where they can vote for the playground they want, as well as comment on the shortlisted designs. 

“It’s further great news for south Reading residents, following the other recent investment in a new outdoor gym and revamped BMX track south at Longbarn Lane”. 

Funding for playground improvements across the borough has been secured by the Council from developers who contributed to the Council’s Community Infrastructure Fund. Local Councillors were key in ensuring that the distribution of a percentage of those funds fed back into this project.

Reading communities were consulted in 2018 on how money collected from local planning developments should be spent. The top-ranked schemes, including Cintra Park’s Children’s Playground in south Reading, were approved at the Council’s Policy Meeting on 26th November 2018.

Other Playground investment agreed and improved, include:

• £100K – Canal Way – completed in August 2020
• £100K – Ivydene play area, located next to Portman Road completed in October 2019
• £155k - Longbarn Lane  Recreation Ground in south Reading, for a revamped BMX track and new outdoor gym, due to be completed in January 2020.