A new play area has opened in an East Suffolk village after receiving support from East Suffolk Council.
The new play area on Levington Lane in Bucklesham officially opened on Saturday 4 May, with the community celebrating together and enjoying the new facilities.
East Suffolk Council supported the project by providing £45,000 from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) with delivery through the East Suffolk Local CIL Play Fund, with funding also provided by Bucklesham ward councillors Cllr Lee Reeves and Mike Ninnmey who provided £1,000 from their Enabling Communities Budgets.
The project was led by Bucklesham Parish Council, with the community working together to fundraise to replace and upgrade ageing play equipment. It features large slides for older children, a cone spinner for climbing, a log rope swing, seesaw and a new trim trail area. There is also an accessible area for sensory and imaginative play along with sensory panels for children of all abilities, as well as a shaded seating area for parents and carers.
Cllr Mark Packard, East Suffolk Council's cabinet member for Planning and Coastal Management, said:
“Cllrs Reeves, Ninnmey and I were pleased to attend the opening of the play area. CIL funding is vital when Parish and Town Councils decide to upgrade their children’s facilities. Our congratulations to the clerk and the parish councillors for putting on well organised event for the community to enjoy. The whole project was put together in a one-year time period which shows a high level of commitment by the Parish Council.”
Cllr Clive Lenton, Chair of Bucklesham Parish Council, said:
“I am hugely proud of what we have achieved as a community in such a short space of time. We decided in May 2025 that we really needed to update the old equipment, and in the last 12 months we have managed to consult with residents, work with designers, fundraise, apply for and successfully obtain a Local CIL Play Fund grant, and complete the project so that it is ready for opening today.
“We are hugely grateful for the CIL funding because as a small village, we would never have managed to fundraise the amount of money needed to fund a project like this. Thank you to Cllr Packard, Cllr Ninnmey and Cllr Reeves for supporting us, and we know the whole village is thrilled with what it has provided for the village children. The old equipment was worn, tired and dangerous and much of it had already been removed. Now we have an amazing safe space for village children to have fun, socialise and learn through play – most importantly we have provided inclusive and sensory pieces so that all our children, no matter what their ability, can join in and play together.”
Introduced by the Planning Act 2008, CIL is a planning charge that is paid by developers as a tool for local authorities in England and Wales to deliver infrastructure to support development in an area. Since 2017 £26.3m in CIL funding has been allocated to 81 local infrastructure projects in East Suffolk and include play areas, village halls and community centres, schools, transport schemes and GP surgeries.