A £1 million programme to overhaul children’s play areas across four Southend parks is now underway, with all sites due to be completed by spring. The investment aims to revive ageing playgrounds, improve safety and create greener, more accessible spaces for families.
Part of the city’s Civic Pride and parks improvement drive
The scheme sits within the council’s wider Parks Improvement Programme and its Civic Pride agenda, which focuses on improving public spaces and encouraging residents to take pride in their local environment.
Refurbishment work is already progressing at Southchurch Park. Oakwood Park, Friars Park and Bournes Green Park will follow in the coming weeks. The designs for each location have been shaped by public feedback through a previous consultation.
What the upgrades will include
The improvements will deliver new and refurbished equipment, better safety surfacing, improved accessibility features and refreshed paths, benches and planting. The goal is to make the parks more enjoyable all year round, while also supporting biodiversity through greener landscaping.
The £1 million investment follows Councillor Lydia Hyde’s ‘Better Play’ motion from 2022, which kickstarted the push to modernise the city’s play spaces.
Councillor Lydia Hyde, cabinet member for climate, environment and waste, said: “Our parks are at the heart of our communities, places where families connect, children play and people enjoy being outdoors.
“I am pleased to deliver on my Better Play motion from 2022 and see it come to life with new play spaces for the city’s children. This £1 million investment will breathe new life into older play areas, helping us create a citywide network of inclusive, high-quality parks that support active lifestyles, improve wellbeing and boost biodiversity for years to come.”
Councillor Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, added: “This is another clear example of our Civic Pride agenda in action, investing in our city, improving neighbourhoods, and ensuring that every resident can enjoy quality public spaces close to home.”
East Beach: Southend’s first fully inclusive playground
Although accessibility improvements will feature across all four parks, East Beach in Shoeburyness is being developed as the city’s flagship 100% inclusive play space. Every piece of equipment has been selected with SEND needs and physical disabilities in mind.
The playground is themed around the coast, split into garden, beach and aquatic zones. Each area offers sensory elements, rest spots and playful features such as sit-on seals, colourful fish and creature boppers at low level. Classic equipment includes accessible swings, a ground-level roundabout and a basket swing requested by the SEND stakeholder group.
Its eye-catching centrepiece is a large submarine structure with tunnels, a slide and sensory features, designed so children of all abilities can explore it together.
The project also includes extensive new planting, with 18 trees and a mix of shrubs and flowers chosen for year-round colour and scent. A living tunnel is being added as a playful feature for children to run through.
A new sensory boardwalk will link the planting scheme directly to the shoreline, creating an accessible connection from the playground to the water’s edge for children using mobility equipment.
The site benefits from a café, toilets, changing space and a car park, with Shoeburyness station a short walk away, making it accessible for families across the city.