Kirklees Together

We are the winner of a national award for our work on the new Manor Rise Park in Newsome.  We won a Special Judge’s Award in the Children’s Play category of the 2020 Street Design Awards.

A new and innovative approach to play

We removed Manor Rise’s traditional wooden play equipment when the timber posts began to rot and become dangerous. The remaining empty space provided the perfect opportunity for or landscape architects to design and deliver a new and innovative approach to play.

Cllr Naheed Mather Cabinet Member for Environment said:

“Manor Rise Park is a fantastic example of how natural and imaginative play facilities can be incorporated into a space for both children and adults to enjoy.  The national recognition for our approach is fantastic, but the pleasure and positive mental and physical health benefits that access to this area will have on the local community is what really matters.”

How much money was invested into the park? 

We invested £50,000 into the park, which took just a few months to complete. It now offers a flexible, adaptable, and sustainable space to encourage imaginative play and allow children to connect with nature and incorporates features such as logs and boulders.

Did the local community get involved?

The local community was involved every step of the way, including consultations during the design stage, and a planting day to give residents an opportunity to get hands on and help the park take shape. We carefully considered the design of the park and sourced all of the natural materials locally, before our contracts team put them together.

The Judges said:

“It was great to see local involvement, using the topography as an opportunity not a barrier and bespoke timber equipment offering a fantastic value for money solution. I think this should also be seen as a model of the sort of approach that can work wonders, and should certainly be valued in its local community.”

Learn more

The 2020 Street Design Awards celebrate innovation and best practice in street design across the UK, learn more on their website.