13 August 2025
Play area closed
Closed until further notice so urgent repairs can be carried out to the equipment.
Fivehead ParkPlay area
Play area
Closed since 13 August 2025 for safety reasons. Here is why, what happens next, and how you can help through Fivehead Park: Play On.
Safety first
As it stands, the play area is not safe to reopen. Our current Play On target is £60,000, focused on reopening and improving the play area. We are obtaining quotations, and the target may increase as costs become clearer. Our longer-term ambition includes the wider park, extra parking, and improvements to the Village Hall and other buildings.
Play area
Closed
Please do not go into the play area while it is closed.
Recreation ground and games court
Open as normal
Why the play area is closed
The play area closed on 13 August 2025 for safety reasons. The problems we are working through include:
- Swing chains that need replacing
- Netting with gaps wide enough for a child to fall through
- Rubber safety matting that has shrunk, leaving gaps and trip hazards
- Corrosion on some of the metal equipment
- Fencing that is no longer safe
- Older equipment that needs assessing, such as the motorbike spring rider. We have receipts for some items going back as far as 1961.
Like many village play areas, it has suffered from a lack of funding while the safety standards for play equipment have moved on.
What happens next
Our first priority is to get the play area open again and the temporary fencing, barriers and locks taken down. Two independent reports were carried out before the play area closed, and it has only deteriorated since. We will be carrying out new assessments to find out what can be saved and what needs replacing.
We want to keep everything that can safely be kept, replace what is no longer safe, and add equipment for a wider range of ages, as the play area has suited quite a narrow age group. Everything is subject to consultation, and the Fivehead Park: Play On Working Group is exploring options, informed by consultation, assessments and quotations. We will share what the assessments tell us.
Fivehead Park: Play On
Who has supported the play area so far
£7,500
raised by villagers (approx.)
Thank you, Fivehead!
£2,500
from The Stable Community Café
Wow. Thank you, The Stable!
Watch this space
Your name could be next
Get yourself added now, and help bring the community back together.
The road to reopening
March 2026
Fenced and secure
Temporary fencing keeps the area safe while repairs are planned. The rest of the recreation ground stays open.
2025
Bring Play Back
The village starts raising money to reopen the play area, with £2,500 from The Stable Community Café.
October 2026
New trustees make it a priority
The new trustees, appointed on 7 October, have put reopening the play area at the top of the list.
October 2026
An ambitious first target of £60,000
As it stands, the play area is not safe to reopen. Our current target is £60,000 for a safe play area that lasts, for children of all ages. It may rise as quotations come in.
A play area worth bringing back
The tower and slide, swings, seesaw, spring riders and roundabout gave Fivehead's children somewhere to play right next to the Village Hall.
What we would like to do
Nothing is agreed yet, and the trustees are still looking at the options. Ideas so far include a larger climbing frame and equipment for a wider range of ages. Tell us what you would like to see.
Share your ideaWith thanks
Our partners
Local businesses whose support keeps the hall and park open for everyone in Fivehead.
Read their storiesThe Stable Community CaféCommunity partner, and £2,500 to the play area
The Crown InnCommunity partner