City Committee approves over £500K Investment for local play areas

At today’s meeting of the Inverness City Area Committee members agreed an investment of £512,052 to improve play areas across all seven wards over the coming year.

Decisions on allocating funds received from the Scottish Government’s Play Park Renewal Fund are taken by Area Committees based on a blend of play park conditions and the criteria used by Government which is based on the 0–14-year-old population and rurality.

The total allocation from the Scottish Government play parks renewal programme for the Inverness Area is £838,162 which has been split equally between the seven Wards, providing each with £119,737 per Ward over the five-year programme. The annual revenue budget for play parks in the Inverness Area 2025/26 is £65,200 and includes labour, plant and fleet, materials, and some contractor costs.

Spread over the Highlands the Council is responsible for 319 play parks and over 2083 pieces of play equipment.  58 of these play areas are in Inverness. The provision of play parks in not a statutory duty, but the inspection and maintenance of equipment once installed, is a mandatory requirement.

Leader of Inverness and Area, Councillor Ian Brown said: “Playparks have positive social and mental health benefits for children and young people so it’s great news that significant funding to invest in so many play areas across our wards has been agreed today. I’d like to thank local members, officers and local community groups for all the work they have done to prioritise the spend to where it is most needed.

“Like everything mechanical or structural, play equipment has a finite life, and at the end of its life it becomes unsafe for children to play on, and must be replaced. The investment over 2025/26 will benefit our local communities and keep our play parks open and safe for our children now and into the future.”

The Council would welcome any local groups that are interested in supporting further investment in their play parks for example by accessing funding sources that are not open to the Council. If any groups are interested in boosting the investment in their playparks they can email Highland Council’s Play Strategy Coordinator who can support them with this at: amenity.services@highland.gov.uk

Details of investment agreed are:

For Ward 12 - £102,336

• Balnain Road Play Area; £26,350 for a refurbishment project
• Aird Road Play Area; £20,000 to install inclusive items
• Strathglass Play area; £3650 to go towards a community refurbishment project
• Abertaff Play Area; £2,500 to go towards a community refurbishment project
• Jenkins Park Play Area; £2,500 to go towards a community refurbishment project
• Milton of Drumnadrochit Play Area; £151 to remove and replace fence
• Kiltarlity Play Area; £47,185 to go towards a community refurbishment project

For Ward 13  -  £72,225

• Whin Park Play Area; £8,225 to complete the refurbishment project
• Lawers Way Play Area; £22,000 for a refurbishment project
• Blackpark Terrace Play Area; £10,000 for a new bench and inclusive slide
• Mile End Place Play Area; £20,000 for a carousel, monkey bars or zipline
• Charleston View Play Area; £12,000 for a slide or basket swing

For Ward 14 - £55,000

• Benula Road Play Area; £35,000 for a refurbishment project
• Hawthorn Drive Play Area; £15,000 for a teenage climbing unit, hammock & zip line
• Lochalsh Road Play Area; £5,000 to replace bark with grass matting surfacing

For Ward 15 - £73,304

• Castle Heather Play Area; £4,990 for MUGA panels
• MacDonald Park Play Area; £25,450 to resurface MUGA and carry out footpath works
• Holm Park Play Area; £3,350 to replace goals and reseed
• Ardbreck Play Area; £34,514 for a refurbishment project
• Evan Barron Road Play Area; £5,000 to remove swings and install pretend road

For Ward 16 - £56,000

• Grebe Avenue Play Area; £40,000 for a refurbishment project
• Walker Park Play Area; £6,000 to replace bark with grass matting surfacing
• Lochiel Road Play Area; £10,000 to add an inclusive item

For Ward 17 - £93,187

• Cameron Drive Play Area; £53,187 for replacing the wetpour with grass matting surfacing
• Smithton Pitches Play Area; £40,000 for a refurbishment project

For Ward 19- £60,000

• Inshes Park Play Area; £30,000 for a replacement cable runway, springy, basket swing and parkour equipment
• Burn Brae Play Area; £30,000 for a refurbishment project

A map of Highland Council play areas and further information is available on the Council’s website