Rectory Park (and Overthorpe)
About the site
Rectory Park and Overthorpe Park in Dewsbury South are in close proximity to each other within the Dewsbury South Ward. Kirklees Council has funding to improve the play areas across Kirklees as part of the Playable Spaces Strategy.
We aim to make the play provision at these sites more appealing, and accessible to all age groups, by incorporating natural play with traditional play equipment, ensuring that our communities are able to enjoy the fantastic opportunities which play can bring. Play in the outdoors has the potential to have a large and important role in a child's physical, social and cognitive development, it is also is not reserved solely for children and young people. It should be encouraged at all stages of life, with many additional benefits experienced by individuals and communities.
Rectory park before
Overthorpe park before
Project overview
Together with Ward Councillors, we've chosen to engage with the public on both sites at the same time so that the designs for both parks compliment each other; enabling them to offer slightly different play opportunities. Rectory Park will be the first park to be designed, with Overthorpe then following later in the Playable Spaces programme.
An initial public consultation was completed to understand more about how people use the two parks and what they would like to see at each location.
The feedback has been used to initially help design the redeveloped play space at Rectory Park. The table below shows the main points raised in the consultation and the way we are addressing them within the design, which you can see below.
Rectory park concept plan
Rectory park sketch design
You said... We did...
| You said | We did |
|---|---|
82% of people told us we needed to improve the variety of play options. The need for improved play facilities was the biggest theme to emerge. Respondents commented that if the play area was larger, cleaner, and with a greater variety of equipment and activities for a wider age range that they would be more likely to visit Rectory Park more often. |
We've increased the range of equipment to cater for different age groups. To do this we are installing 6 new pieces of equipment and refurbishing 4 pieces of existing equipment. We're adding: Junior and teen steel climbers, junior and teen swings, a seesaw (funded by the Friends of Rectory Park), an accessible roundabout, lookout railings with megaphone and binoculars and playable climbing boulders. We'll be refurbishing: Rocker board, toddler swings, speaking tubes and the junior climber |
The majority of respondents (69%) considered that it would not be safe to remove the fence around the play area at Rectory Park. |
We listened to what you told us, and we will not be removing the fencing at Rectory Park. However, we had to manage the fact you told us you wanted a larger play area with more equipment. So, we are introducing more play equipment outside of railings for the older aged children and teenagers. This decision was made as we were unable to expand the railed area within budget and provide a larger play area with wider range of equipment. |
75% of you said we needed to improve the availability of seating. |
We have worked with the councillors who are helping to fund 2 picnic benches next to the play area and we will be relocating the other benches on site to provide better seating coverage for the park. |
In terms of play equipment, the most popular suggestions were swings and slides. Respondents asked for 'more' and for them to be 'bigger' than what was currently on offer. A better climbing frame / wall / net also emerged as a key suggestion. Other equipment mentioned included a zipwire, a seesaw, a trim trail, and a roundabout. Words that were frequently used included to describe what people wanted from the new play area included 'variety', 'adventurous', 'bigger', 'imaginative'. |
We are installing a new junior and teen swing set. We are installing a new junior and teen steel climber with poles for sliding and we are also refurbishing the existing climber which includes a slide. As well as refurbishing the existing junior climber we will be installing the new junior and team climber which offers different climbing opportunities as well as installing playable boulders that be climbed on and between. We will be installing an accessible roundabout as part of the design. The Friends of Rectory Park and Councillors have kindly donated the funds for the installation of a new seesaw. The installation of new lookout railings allows for imaginative play. |
Get involved
Public engagement closed on 24 January 2022.
Next steps
The Project Team are now taking steps to appoint a contractor for the construction works at Rectory Park. Once a contractor is appointed, a timeframe for the completed works on site will be shared and plans for the design of Overthorpe Parks play site will begin.
Contact us
If you would like to contact the team about this project, or another play area in Kirklees please contact:-