PRESS RELEASE
New Milton Town Council officially opened the newly refurbished play area at Long Meadow Village Green in Barton on Sea.
Chairman of the Town Council’s Amenities Committee, Councillor Geoff Blunden, welcomed the assembled children and their families to enjoy the new play equipment and offered complementary ice-cream, apples and bottled water.
To mark the occasion of the official opening of the play park, the ribbon was cut by Cllr Blunden with help from local children Callum and Sienna, who offered their very capable assistance.
Cllr Blunden said “The original rustic themed play park was installed in spring 2012 and had been well used over the years since then. The project to update the play park started in February 2026, with the old equipment removed and replaced with new modern, bright and cheerful play equipment. Works included safety surfacing laid as wet pour, and enhancements to the surrounding landscape around the play park featuring “conipave” surfacing and a gravel footpath.”
[Note. CONIPAVE is a water-permeable, flexible outdoor paving system made from recycled rubber and stone aggregate. It is produced by Conica and used for eco-friendly pathways.]
He added “The project was completed in time for the Easter holidays, soon becoming very popular and receiving great reviews from children and their families. It offers safe play time and accessible play equipment available for all abilities to enjoy.”
The total costs for the project were £118.5k, managed by New Milton Town Council’s Estates & Facilities Manager and his team, working with Kompan Play, local groundworks and fencing contractors. The costs were funded from developers’ contributions and budgeted CapEx.
Long Meadow Village Green is located in close proximity to Barton Common, a designated SINC site, and a short walk to Barton cliff to with beautiful views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.