Council approves plans for Shoreditch Park improvements

Construction is set to begin later this year on a £2m project to regenerate Shoreditch Park, after the Council approved plans for the area.

The refurbishment will include an improved children’s play area, new outdoor gym, multi-use games area, beach volleyball court, and work to enhance the park’s accessibility, biodiversity and sustainability.

The final plan for the park was developed by Hackney Council and landscape architects LUC, after two years of consultation and engagement with local people.

Cllr Caroline Woodley, cabinet member for families, early years, parks and play, said: ‘I’m really excited about these plans, which will keep Shoreditch Park at the heart of the community for generations to come. So many residents told us what they’d like to see, which is now reflected in the ambitious plans for a new play area, sports plaza and crucial biodiversity and sustainability improvements.

‘We’re committed to investing in Hackney, and its future, with this improvement project sitting alongside investment in the Shoreditch Park Adventure Playground and the new Britannia Leisure Centre, on the edge of Shoreditch Park, which includes two Changing Places and a cafe and toilets serving the park. Through these investments we are seeking to establish wider access to facilities that will help us in our mission to make the area a place for everyone.’

The existing play equipment in the park will be replaced by a new play area next to Rushton Street, with a tower and mound, sand pit with sand play pieces, accessible swings, slides, trees, and an inclusive roundabout.

A new sports plaza will also be developed, hosting the new beach volleyball court, alongside a multi-use games area, table tennis tables, an outdoor gym, and a seating area.

Dorothy Thurtle Gardens, south of the Britannia Leisure Centre, will also be renovated, with new planting, pathways and a play trail, and new benches.

Additional measures will improve the park’s biodiversity and reduce the risk of flooding, including resowing the grass and relaxing mowing in certain areas, installing rain gardens, permeable surfaces, hedges and log piles, and creating a wildflower meadow.

In related news, play parks across Scotland will be modernised and restored through £5m of funding, following an agreement between the Scottish government and Cosla.

Photo supplied by Hackney Council