A draft concept design of a world-class inclusive playspace on the Geelong waterfront will be released for public comment.
The City of Greater Geelong has partnered with Variety - The Children's Charity to build a flagship new play area for children of all abilities to play together at Rippleside Park.
The existing playground, which opened in 2001, could not have been delivered without huge community support, with more than 1500 volunteers donating their time and money.
The City is looking to again meet the needs of the community by creating play experiences and equipment that will provide fun and challenges for children of all abilities.The draft concept design was created after the first round of community consultation was completed in November 2019.
The survey results showed that shade, multi-aged play settings, toilet location, cleanliness and nature play were all important features.
The most popular play experiences were swinging, climbing, sensory play, water play and nature play.This feedback was incorporated into the draft concept design, which includes:
- a variety of play options for all ages and abilities, with a focus on natural and sensory activities;
- a feature treetop walk, with views through trees, across the playspace and towards the ocean. The structure has multiple access points;
- universal access;
- sheltered and comfortable seating for supervision and gatherings; and
- a surrounding fence with two gated entries.
An allocation of $400,000 is included in the Council's 2020-2021 Budget to progress the detailed design for the new playspace.
The Victorian Government has announced that it would provide $800,000 through the Sport and Recreation Community Infrastructure Program.
The funding will be supported by Variety, which is seeking financial donations from Geelong businesses and individuals to realise the estimated $2.5 million total project cost.
Variety has successfully partnered with other local governments to deliver similar playspaces in Bankstown and Taree.
Residents can visit the Your Say page from Monday 20 July to view the designs and provide feedback during a consultation period that runs until Friday 28 August. The designs can also be viewed in the 14 July council meeting agenda.
Councillor Kylie Grzybek - Acting Mayor
This clever and creative design responds to the features that the community told us they wanted in this unique playspace.We want this playground to be a welcoming and fun attraction that people of all ages and abilities will enjoy.
We're encouraging everyone to give their feedback on the design, so we can create something that will deliver joy to families for many years to come.
Councillor Anthony Aitken, Chair, Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee
We're aiming to build Greater Geelong's most inclusive and accessible play space, that kids of all abilities will find exciting and challenging.We're incredibly excited to be working with Variety on an innovative project that will create a rich community hub for local families and visitors.
With 14,000 community members in the region living with a disability, many of whom are young people, Council has an important responsibility to provide accessible play spaces.
Variety – the Children's Charity Inclusive Play Manager Kim Becherand
The Variety Livvi's place at Rippleside Park is an exciting part of our mission to make play available to all kids within their community.We have a dedicated play team who are working alongside councils and community groups to build incredible playspaces, which meet the needs of our communities now and into the future.
We believe every local area must have at least one inclusive playspace and we are very excited to be partnering with forward-thinking communities such as the City of Greater Geelong, to begin to change the way public spaces are built.
