A brand new inclusive playground designed to make play more accessible has opened at a popular attraction in Durham, following a successful grant application to the Rural England Prosperity Fund, funded by UK government.
Adventure Valley, soft-opened the new inclusive playground during their recent October half-term Halloween event. The playground is now open for all guests and features play equipment which meets accessibility needs for children with disabilities.
The new play spaces include an accessible swing, two user accessible roundabouts and a wheelchair accessible seesaw. There are also multiple sensory spaces and a braille play panel for children with impaired vision. A play tower at the centre of the accessible development features 44 play activities, multiple slides, towers, climbing walls and accessible play panels.
The new play space has been designed to allow the attraction to provide an enjoyable experience for families of children with special educational needs and additional physical needs, and will allow Adventure Valley to welcome more community groups and schools.
The total investment in the inclusive play spaces is set to total £350,000, with £100,000 of the project funded by the UK Government’s scheme and the rest of the balance invested by the management team at Adventure Valley.
The planning and grant applications for the development received wide ranging support from local schools and the wider community.
Adventure Valley owner, Janine Calzini said “We’ve been incredibly excited to see the development of this new inclusive play space come to life. We’re committed to making adventure accessible for all and our new play spaces are some of the most accessible in not only the North East, but in the entire country. We are so proud of the development and we hope that it will bring lots of joy to families within our community. It’s definitely going to be an early Christmas present for families who visit us.”
Adventure Valley are also set to open a second play area next month elsewhere on the site. The popular attraction is currently busy preparing for it’s annual Winter Wonderland event which starts next week.
For more information about the development or to purchase tickets for Adventure Valley, guests can visit the attraction’s website: www.adventurevalley.co.uk
