Halliwick Recreation Ground, Friern Barnet - playground consultation

We asked

We asked for your views on the proposed refurbishment of the main playground at Halliwick Recreation Ground.

You said

We received 58 responses to the online questionnaire, one direct email and we spoke to 34 people at the two pop up events in the park. The key themes from the public consultation were:

there is not enough for older children to do
request to keep the existing pair of single flat swings
the spire climbing net was the most popular piece of equipment
request to include monkey bars
request to include bars for children to somersault
request for more picnic benches in the play area
swap colour scheme to more muted colours.

We did

The order has been placed for the refurbished playground, and this is likely to be installed in autumn 2025. This work is being funded by East Area Committee and by other funding sources that the Friends of Halliwick Rec have bid for, including the London Marathon Foundation Active Spaces Fund. In total there is now £275,000 available for this playground.

The design of the playground has been revised to include more equipment for older children with the inclusion of a sensory dome, which has lots of climbing parts and many children will be able to climb on the equipment at the same time. The spire climbing net has been removed to allow for the sensory dome, which is a larger piece of equipment with more activities.

The tower unit, which is suitable for older children now has monkey bars.

Two flat swings and two somersault bars have been included in the design.

The number of picnic benches in the design has increased from one to three.

The colours of the equipment have been changed to more muted colours, and the entire playground is now fenced.