PARK LIFE FOR CLASE 4 ALL

Clase 4 All – the Invest Local group in Clase, Swansea – have been on a whistle-stop tour of parks across South Wales.

The group identified activities for children and families as one of the top priorities for residents of Clase, and have set up a working group of interested residents to look at projects around this theme.

One of the projects that the group is keen to tackle is the local park. With lack of funding from the council to maintain and replace equipment, it is looking neglected, and is rarely used by local families.

The group decided that a park with modern play equipment and facilities would not only be used by families from the area, but would also attract visitors from outside Clase. This would also address another of Clase 4 All’s aims – to improve the reputation of area within the wider Swansea community.

So over two Mondays in March, the group hired a minibus and visited a series parks in Swansea and beyond. They looked at everything from splash pads and slides to climbing frames and zip wires – taking lots of photographs and videos to show the local children back in Clase.

The Clase4All group have also visited another Invest Local community – Hubberston and Hakin in Pembrokeshire, to visit the community-run park.

Invest Local Officer Kate McCabe said: “Although it may look like all fun from the photos, these trips have been a real fact-finding mission for the group. They are keen to make the park accessible to everyone, so they’ve been looking at things like accessibility swings, and the different types of equipment that would be suitable for older and younger children. They’ve also done lots of research into things like flooring and fencing.”

The next step is to hold a series of events with local children, showing them the results of the research and asking for feedback on what they would like to see in the park.