Over the last few years several consultations have shown a community need to firstly upgrade play equipment, and secondly provide more for older children and teenagers in Long Ashton.
The Long Ashton Community Association (LACA) has recently installed a new fire engine and roundabout. Separately, a working group has explored options for a wheels park in the village with the community centre identified as a viable location.
However the reality is that the play park site as a whole has not been looked at in over 20 years - it feels tired and doesn’t reflect the vibrance of our community. We think it is time for us to reimagine what it could be for a new generation of children and memories.
So in 2026, a group of residents, LACA representatives and parish and ward councillors have come together to develop that vision and a plan for how we might deliver it. We are excited about what is possible but will need your help on this journey.
You can learn more about us on the Project Team page.
We have worked with local landscape design studio MOOWD to develop a vision for the site that creates zones for different types of play including a wheels park, young children and teenage areas as well as more seating spaces and a cafe.
This is just a ‘vision’ - the details of specific equipment, landscaping, and the order in which things are delivered will be decided later.
This is an ambitious project with many different elements to deliver.
Central to this is how, as a community, we might raise the considerable sums of money needed to deliver a beautiful and ambitious playpark that puts high-quality free play at the heart of our village. We believe that play is for everyone, so our playpark needs to address the needs of all members of our community as we grow and change. We need to create a park that appeals to toddlers and young children's imaginative play, gets our older children and teenagers active in spaces they love to be in, and attracts young and older adults with and without children and grandchildren.
There are several additional challenges. Firstly, we are unlikely to get all the money in one go. So rather than wait years to start, we will deliver the project in phases, adhering to the single over-arching vision so it looks coherent, inviting and beautiful.
In addition, we are fortunate that Long Ashton sits in the top few percent of the country in terms of opportunity and affluence. This means we cannot access most public funds as these are targeted towards children and play in disadvantaged communities. There will therefore need to be a major fundraising effort in the community to help deliver something we all feel we own and can be proud of.
We cannot do this without community support. If you can find a few hours and have expertise in fundraising, project delivery, landscaping or anything else you think might help then please get in touch at longashtonplayproject@googlegroups.com or fill out this form