A NEW Play Space & Equipment for Happisburgh

A NEW Play Space & Equipment for Happisburgh       

Findings from the community consultation session on Thursday 15th December 2011 3pm-5pm at Happisburgh Church Rooms.  (click on the picture to the left to open a copy of this document)

The event was well attended by a wide cross section of the local community. 65 adults and children were represented on 31 questionnaires completed at the event.
The equipment tagged has been grouped by type with climbing and sliding clearly being the preference of those attending.  The singular most popular piece of equipment was the climbing apparatus located at Stalham, which was tagged 34 times. This was followed by a ladder and slide arrangement (28), zip-wire (21) and a wooden multi-functional pirate ship arrangement (20).

 UPDATE (Nov-2011) The Play Space project has had great news! The Parish Council have agreed in principle to a new play space being located by the new car park and ramp at the end of Beach Road and for a Project Steering Group to work under the umbrella of an existing village charity.  This now means that as volunteers working together we have a fantastic opportunity to help design and create a one-off play space to be proud of - one that reflects the needs and views of the community.

UPDATE (July-2011) There has been a great response to the 900 questionnaires sent out in early June 2011 in the 'Coastal Group of Parishes' news sheet.  The questionnaires asked the community if there is a need for a new play facility, what equipment they would like and for volunteers.
A 13% return rate from Happisburgh (425 properties) and an overall return rate of 6%.

The village is amidst exciting changes.  Over the past 10 years Happisburgh has suffered at the hands of the North Sea; with the loss of the only two ramps onto the beach, residential property, leaving a beach littered with dangerously smashed up revetments. The council have been slow to act, with a lack of prompt funding or a speedy resolution. Residents & holiday makers could only access the beach via steps inaccessible to buggies or wheelchairs (loss of our ramp down to the beach was in 2002).

We are proud to say our community has fought tirelessly.  Our voice has been heard and a Pathfinder Scheme given funding; this year (2011) will see the beach debris removed, residents re-housed, threatened properties demolished and a long awaited access ramp to the beach! 

This time Happisburgh’s landscape will change for the better; the land clearance will open up a significant area suitable for a brand new play space.  The proposed location will be alongside new public toilets, car park and the ramp onto the beach (funded by the Pathfinder Scheme).

The Play Space is not included in Pathfinder and equipment will need to be obtained through fund raising & grants.

The map demonstrates the current void of adequate play facilities in the area.

The Play Space project has the support of the community, Parish Council and Happisburgh CofE Primary school.  The school has embraced the regeneration of the village and set the pupils a special project to draw their dream play area. We are delighted by the designs and enthusiasm of the children to make this dream happen. (May 2011)

Happisburgh of my childhood, some 30 years ago, had a wonderful selection of outdoor play equipment for its time.  The play equipment stretched the length of the current football pitch.  We had rusty climbing frames, finger nipping swings, a wobbly see-saw.  Of course it would fail miserably on today’s safety standards, but it was fun and I enjoyed hours of my childhood in that play area. My children are now growing up in the village and I want them to experience play as I did.  Leonie Hughes