5th April 2025
Morval Parish Play Park is finally a reality
RED LETTER DAY: Vevlen Harding, whose family own the land, cuts the tape to officially open the new £180,000 Morval Parish Play Park at Widegates, flanked by de facto site works manager Richard Liddle, (left), and parish council chairman Andy Jackson
Pictures: John Collings
FOR many of the parents who had originally campaigned for Morval Parish to have a children’s playground, Friday’s opening ceremony was a little too late; their loved ones have since grown and flown the nest… although some might now be contemplating treating grandchildren to a visit to the salubrious new site next to Farriers Way, Widegates.
No-need can quite remember when the first discussions about a play area took place.
Cornwall Councillor Armand Toms, one of the triumvirate of local VIPs honoured to perform the actual opening ceremony, thought it had been ten years in the making – but then, as a former fisherman who often had to work his way through numbers for EU quota purposes, perhaps his sums were again on the economical side!
Everyone, though, was in agreement that it had certainly been a long, long time and that the facility was possibly the greatest ever achievement of the Parish Council.
Mr Toms is retiring next month after 20-plus years as an Independent member on Cornwall County Council (latterly as the representative for the Looe East and Deviock ward, whose bailiwick includes Morval Parish). He said that the £180,000 playground was a credit to the tenacity of parish councillors, past and present, who had made it happen.
He particularly thanked former parish council chairman John Kitson and councillor Ben Pengelly for their efforts as well as past clerk Samantha Pengelly and present clerk Laura Storey.
Drawing on his vast experience of similar projects in his career, Lydcott Glamping business owner Richard Liddle had acted as the parish council’s de facto works manager (thanking him at this month’s parish council meeting, Vice-chairman John Collings opined that if it were not for Mr Liddle’s go-get enthusiasm the council might still be talking about a play area…)
Mr Toms echoed the statements about the dedicated efforts of Mr Liddle who, he said, had been helped by a number of local people, many of them not connected with the council.
Council chairman Andy Jackson welcomed everyone to the opening ceremony and also praised Mr Liddle and his family.
Mr Liddle and Mrs Velven Harding, whose family own the land, joined Mr Toms in the official tape cutting ceremony.
Mr Liddle thanked the contractors, Kompan, who had made it all happen and who had also been a great help in providing a 16 per cent discounted price as well as sourcing goodie bags for the youngsters.
He, too, praised Mrs Harding and her family for providing 800-square metres of land for the site on a cheap, long-term lease.
Sadly, Velven’s husband, Peter, a former parish councillor, died in February, but a silver birch tree, planted on the site in his memory, was adorned with a red ribbon in a nod to Peter’s favourite colour.
Mr Liddle thanked parish councillor Stuart Hutchins whose Beach House Cafe at Seaton, provided refreshments for the opening ceremony.
Others he was keen to single out were those who helped plant up the site boundary bund (Ben Pengelly, his wife and ex-clerk Sam, and his mum Karen; Mrs Harding; his own family, Emma, Rich, Jonah and Delphi; Carolyn and Amy Allen; Mike & Maggie Willmott; Wong and her husband from Torpoint; Zoe and Pete Wilton and councillor Debbie Kirkland “for her fastidious and consistent project quality reviews”).
Gratitude was also extended to the firms Gardening by Zoe (for gardening expertise and planting); Egret Groundworks for the pathways; Mike Rawlings for the fencing; Tartendown Nursery, Saltash, for the plants and extra donations, as well as site neighbour Jack Blackmore for his donation of additional MUGA fencing, and Looe Community Fire station team for watering-in the bund as part of a pump training exercise.
Added Mr Liddle: “I’d also like to thank Morval Parish Council for supporting me and taking on the responsibility of making this happen; and especially to Sam Pengelly and Laura Storey for working on the Levelling Up grant process and successfully winning substantial funding”.
In declaring the park finally open, he said: “This park is for everyone. Look after it. Have fun. Enjoy it!”
While the Government’s Levelling Up fund provided the majority of the money (£125,000), Morval Parish Council had also been making savings over the past decade to help finance the project.
Police Community Support Officer Dave Billing was unable to attend the opening because of a prior personal arrangement but he has said that the Police will be visiting the play park during operational visits to the parish, especially in the evenings.
WHAT THE NEW PLAY PARK
HAS TO TEMPT YOU…
THE play park equipment was purchased from reputable Danish playground manufacturer Kompan.
It should last for at least 30 years, with appropriate maintenance. All equipment is manufactured in line with British Standards EN1176 and EN1177 which are the UK’s playground and safety surfacing standards guidelines.
For Early Years and pre-school children, there are two cradle swings, a play tractor, a play pig trailer, animal forms, a kinetic farm animal sounds tower with height measure, a multi-platform play unit with a crawl tunnel and slide all designed to get youngsters climbing, thinking, crawling, jumping, running, role-playing, imagining, and laughing.
For other young people, there is a state-of-the-art, custom-designed, 6.5m high tower with a giant tube slide.
There is also a slightly smaller slide from the mid-point tower level and some slide bars for those brave enough. And there is a ground-level refuge with hammocks for those who just want to chill.
There is a 25m zipline with a launch ramp. It is brand new and super fast. Hold on tight! But don’t worry, there is a brake block at the end which will stop anyone from crashing into the fence!
There are two inter-connected dodecagon climbing ‘bloqx’ with moulded climbing holds all over them. And there are also balance beams, balance hops, and monkey bars.
The multi-goal zone has Super-Rebound fencing meaning bounce sound is deadened for residents in the immediate vicinity.
There are ball target spots for improving ball aim skills; cricket stumps for those who want to practice their bowling skills, and a basketball/netball hoop, with a three-metre high surround fence.
The parish council’s community outreach research revealed that a full-sized multi-use games area (MUGA) was a dream for some.
However, a full-size MUGA needs 650-sq.m. The new play park is 800-sq.m, which is why this has been compromised.
Said Mr Liddle: “We really hope that the ball games zone in our Morval Parish Play Park alongside all of the other play opportunities will tick most of the boxes for as many people as possible.”
The council was also conscious that inclusivity was extremely important. As such there is a basket swing, a level roundabout, low-level climb bars, hammocks, and a conical spinner. All lower-level accessible challenges for all.
The environmental impact of the playground was considered in the planning, too.
There are various benches and a picnic table made from recycled plastic. The rubber safety surfacing is made exclusively from recycled tyres and the timber used is from FSC-certified sources.
No fewer 12 trees and many other shrubs and plants have been planted around the park. These should all grow and develop in the coming years to give a stunning backdrop to the park.
The aim is to have safe and resilient planting that will develop into a beautiful bund full of colour, and a good number of native plants. A selection of sensory plants has been included to create an additional learning opportunity to touch and smell.
Equipment colours have been specifically chosen to blend with the natural environment as much as possible. Everything has also been chosen to require minimal maintenance.
The overall cost of the play park has been broken down as just 32p per household per week over the expected lifespan.
However, 70 per cent of the park’s cost was paid for using Cornwall Council’s Levelling Up Fund Grant from the Government – for a community play park that has a capacity of 120 children playing at one time, this appears to be great value.
