In July 2003 a group of volunteers came together to form the Swanton Abbott Play Park Association (SAPPA) - with a common aim; to completely redevelop the village play park. The original park had fallen into a poor state of repair. Children risked injury and, following and inspection by the District Health & Safety Office, the park was declared unsafe and closed to the public.

Since it was formed SAPPA has completely replaced all the play equipment within the park and landscaped the surrounding area. The new equipment provides children with the opportunity to exercise both mind and body. The introduction of benches, planters, hedging and nesting boxes will attract wildlife and enable the area to become a haven for "children" of all ages.

The money for this work came from several sources: the National Lottery provided £33,000 towards the equipment and the Peoples Places Award scheme provided a further £8,514 to landscape the area. Small grants were also obtained from the Parish Council, North Norfolk District Council, Swanton Abbott Trustees of the Poor and the Aylshan Rotary.

SAPPA organised fund raising events within the village which were kindly supported by local companies and personalities. These included Wroxham Barnes, Westwick Fruit Farm, G&W Brown, R&J Butler and Granvilles Gardening Services - thanks to all!

Apart from the installation of the new play equipment the vast majority of the work was completed by the committee members and an army of willing volunteers during their spare time. Most of the work took place during July - November 2004 and involved 38 people of all ages who committed nearly 500 man hours to the project. Many thanks to one and all.

Fantastic....can I help?

Yes! We're always keen to welcome "green-fingered" volunteers to help with the park. Planters need tidying and grass needs cutting. We appreciate time is short for most people, but if you could give up a little of your time to help support a wonderful village resource, we would be most grateful.

For details contact

David Platten

Tel: 538259