Pioneer Play is an exciting destination play area within our Buckler’s Park scheme in Crowthorne.
Sitting at the heart of the new community, Pioneer Play is a 3500sqm play space, forming a key gateway to the 46 hectare SANG at Buckler’s Forest.
The play space celebrates the principles of natural water attenuation adopted across the wider site, with a 70m long playable swale meandering through the playground as it travels towards one of the main stormwater ponds in Buckler’s Park.
Careful consideration has been given to the use of landform and grading design to maximise the variety of play opportunities and define four main play zones. These 4 zones are configured by age and interconnected with clear and legible path links between the zones.
Over half the area is planted with lawns, wildflowers and a biodiverse mix of sensory plants and over 80 new trees providing structure and shade around the play space. A 70m long ‘green wrap’ made up of over 700 native woodland transplants, once established, will provide shelter to the space and protect the quieter wilderness of the Bucklers Forest SANG from the hustle and bustle of the playground.
Within the design, there are areas focused on toddlers and young children with a slide, ramp and experimental sand play, which provides opportunities for challenge and creativity, activating cognitive development at an early age.
Closely linked to the Community Hub café building, the younger children’s play area provides accessible and social play for children aged 2-7, including swinging, balancing and climbing as well as flexible room for free play.
The scale of play increases with the size of the children, with areas for older children focused on more social and active play, creating spaces for climbing, swinging, spinning and balancing.
Parkour nets traverse the swale, connecting larger parts of the site with integrated family picnic areas overlooking the play spaces.
A bespoke boardwalk also crosses the swale, completing the main circular path loop around the site leading to the large ‘tangle climber’ and the landmark tower with its 5m long tunnel slide.
The design of the Pioneer Play tower makes references the last remaining fire watch tower within Bucklers Forest. The 4 original watch towers were used to view vehicles using the colossal 270m diameter skid pan, in the days when the site functioned as a vehicle testing facility.
A 6m long play bridge extends play opportunities and the overall connectivity of the different areas of the site as well as continuing the character of the integrated uses of the stormwater attenuation.
