Mursley children’s playground is located at Mursley Pavilion.

Mursley’s New Play and Exercise Area is coming soon!

A passionate team of volunteers who are a sub-committee of Mursley Sports Association, are working to raise funds to install a new play and exercise area which will benefit everyone in the community. The inclusive play area will be focussed on children from 0-12 years old, and the inclusive exercise equipment will be aimed at 14+ and all abilities.

The equipment in this play area was installed almost 30 years ago and though maintained, is now at the end of its useful life. We know Mursley is behind the curve when it comes to an inclusive play area, the current one could not be accessed by wheelchair or mobility scooter users.

In consultation with the village, school, and sports groups, there was a resounding view that the current playground was no longer fit for purpose. It is tired, the uneven ground makes the area unsafe. The play equipment itself is deemed to only attract young children and excludes children with disabilities. Most importantly it is not wheelchair or mobility scooter friendly.

Our new play and exercise area is to be fully accessible and inclusive. The village has children who use wheelchairs and other children with special educational needs. This would be unique to Mursley, most inclusive accessible play areas are located more than a 25 minute journey by car, the surrounding villages to us certainly do not offer accessible surfacing. The area will be geared towards encouraging children with different abilities to play together in well-designed play spaces, and disabled carers will be able to accompany their children. We also aim to install an inclusive exercise area. The inclusive play area will be focussed on children 0-12years old and the inclusive exercise equipment will be aimed at 14+ and all abilities.

The project also aims to target county wide issues. In Buckinghamshire there are increasing rates of obesity in both adults and children; 1/3 Year 6 children were classified as overweight/obese, 3/5 adults aged 18 and over were overweight/obese (2021/22). During 2017 to 2019 cardiovascular disease was the second leading cause of death. People in Buckinghamshire have also experienced poorer mental health with rising diagnosis and referral rates and greater social isolation. We aim to encourage community cohesion post covid and encourage villagers to get active in the new area; beneficial physically and mentally, and especially to those that are older and more remote, who will now be able to access exercise facilities on their doorstep. The new facilities will offer daily physical activity and instil healthy behaviour in children that set them up for life. We hope to facilitate more interactions within the village and strengthen relationships in a safe, and fully accessible place close to home.

The current equipment will be removed and recycled where possible, whatever can be salvaged will be reused in the new area. The play area will become bigger with new equipment using recycled materials where possible.