Accessible playground to 'allow all children to play'

A playground is to be replaced with one that is accessible to wheelchair users so all children can play together.

The playground at Burrow's Field in Cheltenham - the home site for Leckhampton Rovers FC - is old, said trustee Mark Beaney, and the club hopes to revamp it with accessible play equipment.

The club is encouraging schools, businesses and residents to held fund the project and a 12-hour sponsored swing along on Saturday raised more than £1,600.

Fahren Peach, whose son has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, said the playground would mean her "three children can play together and no one has to get left out".

The designs for the playground include a climbing area, trampolines, roundabouts and seesaws which are all wheelchair accessible, along with sensory and motion play areas.

Beaney said he started planning the scheme in January when he had the idea for a "playground where everyone could play".

"I'll be quite honest, I had no idea what it meant until I met lots of lovely people... who educated me about what it meant and it's been a fantastic journey working with them."

He said the fundraiser was well on its way with £100,000 of the required £220,000 raised so far.

"My ambition is that it will be open next year at some point. The sooner we get the money, the sooner it will open, but I'd love to see it," he said.

Peach said she found playgrounds inaccessible and parents of disabled children often risked injury trying to lift children in and out of equipment.

She has a daughter and twin boys who were born prematurely at 25 weeks, one of whom, Freddie, suffered a significant brain injury, which affected all four of his limbs.

"He needs mobility equipment to access everything all day and, at the moment, parks just aren't equipped for him so he can't play; he's left out," Peach said.

She said the new equipment could help Freddie make friends, which he had never been able to do through playing.

She said support from the community had made her "really emotional".

Physiotherapist Kerry Richardson wanted to get involved in the playground appeal and came up with the idea of the swingathon.

"I'm really excited - there's more equipment than we thought would be possible in the space in Burrow's Field," she added.

"This is a perfect environment for children to be active, be mobile and have fun," she said.

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