Popular play park will remain closed until at least December

A popular play park that closed on September 16 for refurbishment will remain closed for at least another month. The John Deasy play area in St George Park was due to reopen earlier this week but builders confirmed they will be continuing the work for at least another four weeks.

The play area which is set to benefit from a new toddler area is currently covered in mud and the fences are likely to remain in place after the builders vacate the site but the council is yet to confirm when the playground will re-open to the public. Delays to its completion are due to an equipment supply chain issue but the contractors expect the remaining equipment to be delivered next week.

A local group of volunteers, Play in St George Park, is working with Bristol City Council on the redevelopment of the playground after parents raised funds for a new toddler area. Once opened, the playground will benefit from new swings, somersault bars, sensory chimes and trim trail equipment (an obstacle course) for children over four.

Alongside four new pieces of playground equipment, the play area will benefit from new landscaping, an update to the existing sand pit and the relocation of the existing slide. £130,000 has been raised to carry out this work.

The group are trying to raise an additional £127,000 to install an accessible roundabout, an in-ground trampoline, embankment climbing ropes and holds, monkey bars, spinners and more swings, and an additional slide. But currently the crowdfunder has only raised just over £7,000 meaning they still need £120,000 to complete the playground and provide new playground equipment for older children.

In October 2022, the toddler swings were removed from the playground over safety concerns. Due to a shortage in council funding for parks they were never fully replaced and the playground itself has not seen any major investment since 2009.

In 2009 the former St George West councillor, Ron Stone (who has now passed away) raised £87,000, with £50,000 coming from a government grant and £37,000 from developers’ improvement funding to build the existing playground.

It was the idea of local primary school children to have a dragon-shaped slide as the centrepiece for the playground. Ron Stone, who named the playground after his predecessor, told BristolLive at the time: “It will be named after John Deasy as a living tribute to his dedicated work to families and a permanent memorial to him in the heart of his ward, a place he loved.”

Bristol City Council has been approached for a comment.