Councillors celebrated the opening of the new playground with local children.
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Delight as £40k play area opened
March 13, 2009
A £40,000 playground was officially opened in Hawley Green on Monday.
Hart District Council released money last July that had been allocated to Blackwater and Hawley Town Council by a developer four years ago.
Ladders, swings, climbing frames, slides and a mini roundabout provide fun and challenging equipment for local children to enjoy.
The money was donated by Bancroft Developments when it was given planning permission to build in Toad Lane and Vicarage Road between Blackwater and Hawley.
The colourful play equipment in Fernhill Road, similar to that at nearby Frogmore, took around three weeks to install. Construction of the playground was completed last month and children have already been making full use of it.
Town council chairman Cllr Adrian Collett said: “The kids love it. You can see them enjoying the playground, even when it is wet.
“It is a lovely playground. I brought my granddaughter here and she absolutely loved it. It is near the road and it being visible means people are safe.
“Parents can pick their children up from school and take them to the playground before they go home.”
Holy Trinity Church and Hawley Primary School are both in Hawley Road, a stone’s throw from the playground.
Hawley Green is accessible via the busy Hawley Road.
Crossing on to the green can be challenging on foot as the traffic lights at the junction of Fernhill Road and Hawley Road favour cars.
However, the pedestrian crossing will be improved in eight weeks. This will ease the fears of people getting to school, the church or their homes who regularly run the gauntlet of traffic.
Cllr Collett said: “The crossing is very dangerous at the moment.
“There are various faults and people don’t know where the traffic is going to and coming from next.
“It is a very important matter for Hawley, be it people using the Memorial Hall, people who want to be out and about, or people going to the church.
“The pedestrian crossing will mean that everyone will be able to cross in safety.”
Town councillor Celia Hennell initiated the play area plans when she was chairman.
Her vision of a new playground stemmed from her fears about the hidden playground behind the Memorial Hall at the far end of the green.
She said: “The playground behind the Memorial Hall is very isolated. The new playground provides better access and it is open.
“Mums can be seen and during the summer the area surrounding the playground can be used for picnics.”
Cllr Denis Gotel, chairman of the district council, attended the official opening.
He said: “This is £40,000 well spent. It gives children an opportunity to socialise with other children which is a big thing.
“They can come out of their homes and play with other children and exercise themselves.”
He said it is an alternative from children sitting in front of the television.
“It provides interaction and a relationship between parents and children,” added Cllr Gotel.
Since the playground opened, Linda Burgess, a childminder from Blackwater, has brought the children she cares for to the playground regularly, before and after school.
“I have been here lots of times,” she said. “It’s really great and it is safe, colourful and well designed.
“It’s well thought out and is a lot better than the other play-ground behind the Memorial Hall.
“The children find it so exciting and always ask to come here.”
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