Village with play area receipts from 1961 launches £60,000 bid to bring back play

Fivehead Park: Play On aims to reopen a much-loved village play area, closed behind temporary fencing since August 2025.

The play area today, closed behind its fence

Update, 22 October 2026. 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.

For journalistsThis story is also a news release. Facts, pictures and logos are in our press area, or email [email protected].

A Somerset village whose play area records go back more than 60 years has launched a campaign to get it open again.

Fivehead's play area, beside the Village Hall on Stowey Road, closed for safety reasons in August 2025 and has been behind temporary fencing ever since. The five volunteer trustees who took over the village charity on 7 October 2026 have made reopening it their first priority, and have set an ambitious first target of £60,000 through a new campaign, Fivehead Park: Play On.

The charity's archive tells the story of a play area the village has looked after for generations. A 1973 invoice from Charles Wicksteed & Co of Kettering lists parts for a metal rocking horse and 10ft swings, both dating from 1961. The parts cost £11.47, and the rocking horse is still in the play area today. In 1982 the committee wrote to local engineer Mr J.P. Matravers of Isle Moor Works to thank him for repairing and reinstating the rocking horse, which "has given much pleasure to the children of the village over many years".

In 2004 the village went further. A questionnaire went to every home, and children voted on the new design at the Fivehead Junior Superstars event on 3 July 2004. They chose a climbing tower, a roundabout and new swings, and the Junior Superstars raised £309.14 towards the cost.

The play area has suffered from a lack of funding while safety standards for play equipment have moved on. Swing chains, netting, safety matting, some of the metal equipment and the fencing all need attention. New assessments will establish what can be saved and what needs replacing.

Stuart Wild, Chair of Trustees, said: "Generations of Fivehead children have grown up on this play area. Our first priority is simple: get it open again and get those fences down. We want to keep everything that can safely be kept, and give the village a play area that works for every age, from toddlers to teenagers."

Peter Headington, Treasurer, said: "Fivehead has a MUGA, two football pitches and a Village Hall side by side, which very few villages can match. Play On is about making the most of that, starting with the play area."

Play On will pay for getting the play area open again, with new equipment, safety flooring, fencing and swings. After the play area, Play On will improve the rest of the Park, then parking, and then the Village Hall and buildings. All plans are subject to consultation, and the Fivehead Park: Play On Working Group is exploring options, informed by consultation, assessments and quotations.

The trustees are also asking anyone with photos or memories of the play area, from the rocking horse to the 2004 vote, to get in touch.

Ends

Notes to editors

Fivehead Village Hall & Park is the working name of Fivehead Village Hall and Playing Field CIO, registered charity number 1204704. It runs Fivehead Village Hall and Fivehead Park on Stowey Road, Fivehead, Taunton TA3 6PP, for everyone in Fivehead and Swell.
Fivehead Park has a play area, a fenced MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) and two football pitches, used by North Curry Football Club youth teams. The Village Hall opened in 2005.
The trustees are Stuart Wild (Chair), Peter Headington (Treasurer), Ed Jenkins (Secretary), Sharon Edwards (Events Lead) and Laura Bardell (Village Liaison Lead).
Archive documents and photos are on our press page, free to use with credit to Fivehead Village Hall & Park.
Photo calls and interviews: [email protected]

Pictures to download Fivehead Park: Play On