The first in a series of exciting new play areas for Nansledan has been officially opened to the public.
Skrambla, the first of six adventure play areas planned for Nansledan, the Duchy of Cornwall’s extension to the seaside town of Newquay, is already being enjoyed by children across the community. The play area was due to open in April but owing to Covid-19, an opening had to be delayed until lockdown restrictions had eased.
Based in the Kosti Veur quarter, Skrambla was designed and built by specialist adventure play company – Creating Adventurous Places (CAP.Co).
The play area has been built using natural materials and designed on a nautical theme. It features elevated wooden huts linked by crawl tunnels and walkways, all sitting within a giant seaweed stick maze. It has a clamber net, slide, log climb, rope bridge and swing, balance log and beams, wonky walkway, stepping stones and a toddler swing, all set in a rolling grass-covered landscape.
The six adventure play areas planned for the community are each being named after the Cornish word for the type of play encouraged at each site. This is in keeping with the use of Cornish place names across Nansledan, which itself means ‘broad valley’.
Skrambla (or Scramble), is to be followed by Slynk, which means slide, Leska, which means swing, Diskhuda, which means discover, Omberthi, which means balance, and Lemmel, which means jump.
Justin Wotherspoon, Chair of the Allotments and Community Gardens Committee (NACGC) which has overseen the play area’s creation, said: “It’s been really busy every day since we opened the park with lots of kids enjoying exploring the tunnels and climbing over the equipment, and everyone is buzzing to have a place for the kids to play and just enjoy being kids, right here in the heart of Nansledan.
“The children have been waiting patiently since April to try out the park, and we’ve waited until we could open the facility safely in line with Government guidance, so it’s a long overdue boost for the community to have the park open at last.”
Theresa Ferguson, Chair of the Nansledan Community Association (NCA), said: “It’s fantastic to see the first of our exciting new play areas open for the community to enjoy. We supported the opening ceremony and ribbon cutting on August 8th led by Justin and the NACGC team, with about 40 residents joining us and 15 children waiting patiently outside, eager to try out the equipment.
“Justin has been instrumental in working with the Duchy of Cornwall team to ensure we got the best equipment and we are very lucky to have him and the NACGC team representing the community in the park projects.”
The NACGC is asking parents and park users to maintain social distancing when using the park, which has a capacity for 35 children at any one time, and new signs are being installed which advise on safety guidance, with recommendations for regular hand sanitising and wiping down play equipment, such as the swings, after use.
The entire park area is a dog-free, smoke-free zone and visitors are asked to take their rubbish home.
The NACGC is now working towards the development of a community allotment at the garden site, with raised beds, sheds and a greenhouse, all designed to complement the Nansledan development.
“The idea is for the community allotment to become a space for more residents to come together and meet each other, and this will be the next project to be developed later in the year,” Justin added.
Ben Murphy, Estate Director at the Duchy of Cornwall, said: “We are delighted to see so many children across Nansledan enjoying the exciting adventure play area.
“CapCo were specifically selected by HRH The Duke of Cornwall for their creative designs which strongly reference their surrounding environment. Skrambla looks incredible with its quirky mix of beach house slides and underwater themes, and it is great to see the children enjoying it after waiting patiently for the lockdown restrictions to ease.
“Outdoor play and adventure is vital for health and wellbeing, and it is pleasing to know that residents and their families can take advantage of this wonderful play area for years to come.
We are looking forward to working with CapCo and the local community to design and deliver the other play areas across the community, with at least two more planned over the next year.”
Nansledan is being developed on Duchy-owned land to the east of Newquay and will eventually comprise around 4,000 homes mixed with retail, offices, workshops, green spaces and a range of community facilities.
It is being built by a consortium of South West building companies which includes Wainhomes, CG Fry & Son and Morrish Builders.
