Countryside Properties : opens new children’s play area in Burgess Hill

Countryside, the UK's leading mixed-tenure developer, has opened a new children's playground in Burgess Hill for the local community to enjoy.

The welcome 2,700sqm recreation area includes an activity area, play equipment, a Multi-Use Games Area, seating and landscaping. The design follows on from consultation with the local Sheddingdean Primary School, where pupils assisted in choosing equipment they would like in the new play area.

The playground features include swings, a trampoline, zip wire, full basketball court and a timber climbing frame with a surrounding turfed landscape lawn. This new play area has been designed to replace the existing playground which has been removed to form a link road for the Northern Arc development.

Homes England, the Government's housing accelerator, is working closely with developers who will build up to 3,500 new homes at Northern Arc, including 30% affordable housing. This is alongside parks, open spaces, schools and other community infrastructure. Homes England has also funded the construction of other key infrastructure to allow the new homes to be built in this area of high housing need, including new roads, a bridge, landscaping, drainage and utility works.

Next year, Countryside will be launching a mix of one and two-bed apartments and two, three and four-bedroom houses available for private sale as well as shared ownership and affordable rent available through Mid Sussex District Council and SAGE Housing.

Danny Wood, Managing Director, Southern Home Counties, Countryside said: "We are extremely pleased to be delivering this new playground, enabling local families to enjoy outdoor play at this new park. It has been a wonderful process to involve the local school and get some first-hand recommendations from our younger community members.

"Countryside is looking forward to providing more amenity, along with much-needed homes, as the development of Northern Arc progresses."

Councillor Judy Llewellyn-Burke, Deputy Leader of Mid Sussex District Council said: "These new play facilities look absolutely fantastic and will provide a wonderful place for local children to meet friends, play games and enjoy the fresh air. It's great to see Homes England and Countryside prioritising the delivery of essential infrastructure as part of the Northern Arc development and I'm sure this new play area will be of great benefit to the local community".Yasmin Ashraf, Co-Head Teacher at Sheddingdean Primary school, said, "We're thrilled to know we have a great new play area for our young pupils to enjoy. The opening is such positive news, and we're really appreciative of everyone involved in designing this outstanding play space."

For more information on the project, visithttps://www.burgesshill.net/, while updates can be found on Facebook - @NorthernArcBH.