Downshire Field and Alton Activity Centre

Situated at the top of Downshire Field, Downshire Field Play Space forms a naturalistic play area connecting children with nature and responding to its unique location amongst parkland mature trees. At ground level, the play space is nestled within robust plant mixes. The planting provides the backdrop for exploration, discovery and endless imaginative play.

This space will be the main play space on Downshire Field, which is a complete redesign of an existing play space of poor quality and no longer fit for purpose.

A palette of natural materials will create seating, fencing and playable features. The play space will be informal, rather than the civic qualities of Alton Activity Centre. It will primarily use neutral/earth tones of surfacing.

To ensure safe play and security for children, a timber boundary fence set amongst structural planting is incorporated around the perimeter.

The concept has been developed to ensure fair and inclusive play is carefully considered. This includes dedicated accessible equipment and interaction where full access is not possible. Consideration for girls has been key to the play space arrangement; with provision of multiple exits/entries and a variety of equipment and social spaces.

Ensuring the space provides engagement and discovery on every return visit there are many different climbing, bouncing, digging, finding, nesting, splashing and resting activities to interact with.

Alton Activity Centre is the youthful heartbeat at the centre of the Alton Estate. Situated between Downshire Field and the future ‘Roehampton Community hub’. It will attract people from the estate and across the Roehampton area to engage in a diverse and dynamic range of active play experiences.

The existing play space is of poor quality and does not meet the requirements expected of a modern play environment and as set out in SPD Shaping Neighbourhoods: Play and Informal Recreation September 2012.

The new Alton Activity space has been completely redesigned with the exception of the Activity Centre building, which is retained. The existing building facility maintains its current use. The future management of this facility is to be considered separately from the landscape proposals of this application.

The Alton Activity Centre proposals take cues from the local pastel colours, curved walls and roof forms to create a distinct contextual playscape.

An extensive engagement  to ensure the space meets the needs of the community and stakeholders. Similar to the Downshire Field Play Space extensive research and design evolution of accessible, inclusive and fair play has been conducted.

The play space can be read in two parts an active lower ground area and a soft nature and sensory upper ground zone.