Kingston Council has agreed to move the proposed location of a new PlayZone in a local park.

Four parks in Kingston, including Manor Park in New Malden, could be upgraded with new artificial sports pitches in a £1.3million project.

However, the Friends of Manor Park group previously opposed the original proposed location for the new PlayZone in the park.

In an exclusive interview with Nub News, Simeon Linstead, Chair of the Friends of Manor Park and the recently formed Friends of Kingston's Parks and Green Spaces, explained that the Friends do not oppose the installation of the new PlayZone, but it did oppose the original proposed location.

He complained that the council did not consult local residents about the PlayZone before putting the Football Foundation's planning application through the planning portal.

Linstead previously said that one of the big concerns for the Friends group is that the "location in the park for us isn't quite right".

He added: "It isn't out of place by a lot - it just needs a little adjustment."

Additionally, Linstead said that the original proposed location of the PlayZone "was "very problematic".

He previously said of the original proposed location: "So the location that's been proposed for the play zone in Manor Park is at a point in the park that four or five years ago, we had opened up to create a connection between the front and the back of the park. It's sort of a pitch point.

"We opened it up, and we shifted our playground over. So there's a big gap.

"This means that you can see into the back of the park, and at the back of the park, you can see into the front, reducing the opportunity for antisocial behaviour because people doing antisocial behaviour don't want to be seen."

Linstead said that this also makes the park feel safer for women and girls and creates a "beautiful open space".

However, he said, the original proposed location of the Play Zone was also "problematic" because it was very close to the park's bowls club, which has national tournaments and requires "not completely, but some degree of quiet".

The original proposed PlayZone location was also very close to the infants' play area, which Linstead said would be bad for young children if older groups were to play sports such as football in the PlayZone.

However, he confirmed yesterday (Tuesday, 14 July), that the council agreed to move the location of the proposed PlayZone.

Linstead said: "Kingston Council has confirmed to me that it will move the proposed location for the Playzone/MUGA at Manor Park.

"It will still be on the rear field, but instead of blocking the gap/sightline between the kids playground and the bowls club, it will go, if approved, directly behind the bowls clubhouse.

"This was important to us (Friends of Manor Park) to maintain a sightline (valueable for its visual amenity, but also in helping reduce opportunity for ASB).

"It also moves it further way from the infant play area (child safeguarding), creates a sound buffer with the bowls green area where national tournaments are staged (protecting existing usage), keeps that space open for community events (Autumfest), and also means that the new Junior Parkrun will not have to funnel through a 3m bottleneck.

"We recognise that the community has mixed views on the MUGA (Multi-use Games Area). We are working to ensure that, if it goes ahead, that it works hard for the community. The devil is in the detail.

"So, for example, we've had concerns raised about whether parking and toilet infrastructure is sufficient for disabled users; women who responded to our online survey would prefer netball over basketball (not one of the four MUGA proposed in the borough supports netball - we've engaged the Kingston & District Netball League to advise).

"Residents wanted free access - the council has confirmed that access with now be free - but we need more detail on how this will work in practice as this is a locked, keypad entry sports court.

"My personal preference on sports would be, stick with the five-a-side football (universally popular), accommodate a full size netball court, and run two smaller side-by-side basketball courts across the short width of the MUGA.

"It is important to support women's sport - this would be a very visible way to do so at Manor Park. Likewise this is an opportunity to get our toilets and car park sorted out. This is also an opportunity to get our toilets and car park sorted out."



Kingston Council is hosting two public consultation events to discuss the proposed Playzones in Manor Park this week.

These will be held in the park from 5.30pm - 7.30pm on Thursday, 16 July and 10am - midday on Saturday, 18 July.

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