Acrobats, high-wire performers, and members of the local community filled Brewery Park in Adamsdown on Sunday as the play area, which has been completely refurbished as part of an ongoing £3.2 million programme of investment in parks and play areas across the city, officially opened to the public.
The play area, which has been extended to include an area of grass for safe, informal play, is one of three in Adamsdown that will be newly created or refurbished this year.
The upgrade also includes new play equipment, seating, railings, and safety surfacing. As part of the works a new multi-use games area has also been installed in the park.
The official opening, by local ward councillors, on Sunday 28thAugust, took place ahead of the first community event to be held in the park since the refurbishment was completed. The event, featuring a highwire performance, acrobats, free running workshops, and Rwandan drumming troupe Ingoma Nyshya, was co-produced by No Fit State Circus in partnership with the local community, as part of the Clifton Street Festival celebrating Adamsdown and its community.
Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke-Davies, said: “The refurbished play area at Brewery Park, alongside the new play area at Anderson Fields which opened back in May, is already putting lots of smiles on lots of children’s faces and hopefully there will be even more happy children in Adamsdown once the brand-new facility at Cemetery Fields opens.
“Children benefit so much from being able to play safely outdoors which is why we’re investing in play areas, not just in Adamsdown, but across the whole of Cardiff.”
The Anderson Fields play area – which features colourful square safety surfacing in the style of a Piet Mondrian artwork, saw an informal play area/art equipment replaced with a new, larger play area encompassing existing trees and grass areas for informal play as well as new play equipment designed to appeal to younger children and encourage play with their parents/guardians/older siblings.
The soon to be completed Cemetery Fields play area is a brand-new fenced facility featuring swings, climbing frame and rockers, as well as seating for adults.
A fourth Adamsdown park, at Howard Gardens, is also in the process of being upgraded, with work currently scheduled to be completed shortly. Once finished this large public space will include a raised central seating area with granite planters, new porous paving, granite and steel edging, and stainless-steel seating. A new entrance on Moira Terrace is also being created and the boundary walls and railings refurbished.
