The mums and dads decided to roll their sleeves up do something positive. They formed an active group which prepared and distributed a questionnaire around the village. The response was very positive and clearly showed the whole community supported the project, so they went into full swing to raise funds to finance the project.
Within 9 months they had raised £12,500 by running local events and obtaining grants from Gloucester Rural Community Council, the Forest of Dean District Council and the Co-operative Society. In addition to providing a loan towards the purchase of the equipment, Newnham Parish Council worked closely with the group providing guidance on safety and planning issues, and covering the insurance and maintenance of the equipment once it was installed.
Helen Baker, secretary of the fund raising committee commented, “We wanted something very different to the usual play equipment, and the innovative BigToys equipment from Monster Play fitted the bill perfectly. It’s also manufactured from recycled materials so we were able to play our part in reducing the number of plastic milk bottles buried in landfill sites. The real benefit is that the children just love the new play equipment, and although it’s only been open a few weeks, it’s become so popular it’s even attracting children from outside the area.”
Mrs Barbara Allsopp, Chair of Newnham Parish Council added, “It was really encouraging to see the enthusiasm of the young family groups working so hard to raise the funds and see this project through to its successful conclusion. Everybody pulled together. A contractor for a local building development carried out the groundworks free of charge, while the keen mums and dads gave up their valuable weekends, rolled up their sleeves and actually installed the equipment themselves. For the last 40 years, succeeding generations in the village have worked as a community to provide play facilities for the young people, and it’s really good to see this tradition continuing. They should be proud of their achievements.”
- e n d s -
Date December 2007
Editor’s notes
High resolution photos available on request
More about Monster Play
Monster Play Systems is one of the UK’s fastest growing and most innovative provider of children’s play equipment, youth shelters, skate parks and ball courts. While building their reputation on providing high quality products, safety and excellent customer service, Monster Play have embraced environmental issues with more and more of their product ranges encompassing recycled content. Their Big Toys range offers one of the highest recycled material contents available in playgrounds today, including 100% recycled posts and platforms.
Please visit www.monsterplay.co.uk
For further comment
Helen Baker, Newnham-on-Severn playgroup fund raising committee
Tel: 01594 516736 e-mail Helen.baker72@
For further technical information
Marco Boi, sales and marketing manager, Monster Play Systems Ltd.
Tel: 01923 811591 e-mail:
For media information
Colin Caldicott
Tel: 01767 601470 e-mail:
