A new pirate ship
playground at a refurbished Sale pub has scored highly with a team of young
footballers.
Members of
Brooklands Dragons JFC had a ball when they helped unveil the £12,000 pirate
ship-style play area at Jackson’s Boat Pub which was designed, manufactured and
installed by family firm Creative Play.
Pub manager Dionne
Blackshaw invited the footie-mad youngsters from the Lazio U12 side for
Brooklands Dragons for the official unveiling after she recently pledged her
support to the junior club by giving them free access of the pub’s adjoining
playing field.
The pitch has also
been given a facelift as part of the refurbishment at the pub which is based in
woodland on the banks of the River Mersey.
Dionne
said: “The pirate boat is really lovely, we are
delighted with it and the new play area has really been the icing on the cake
for the refurbishment. It provides a fantastic, safe place for children to play
while their parents can sit outside enjoying a drink and food.
“We have
also restored our nearby football pitch, bringing it back to its former glory
and have agreed that the Brooklands Dragons, a terrific local, community
football team, can use it.
“What’s great is
that they will also have this fantastic new playground to make the most of and
so they seemed the ideal special guests for our official unveiling.
“We are delighted
with Creative Play, they have been brilliant. They provide a great service and
nothing is too much trouble for them.”
The centre piece for
the new play area is a Quartermaster pirate boat, featuring a deck slide,
ship’s wheel, gang plank and a net climber. The equipment is designed to
encourage physical and imaginative play over multiple levels.
Creative
Play’s Sales Manager Tim Broster, who worked closely with Dionne Blackshaw,
Jackson’s Boat’s manager on the project, said: “Our
client knew they wanted a boat-themed play area and we worked closely with them
to ensure the design and resulting equipment was perfectly tailored to their
needs.
“The result looks
terrific and I’ll be visiting soon with my four-year-old daughter Poppy who
likes to try our play areas.”
Brooklands
Dragons coach Mick Higgins said: “The new play
equipment is terrific, very impressive. The nearby football pitch has also been
refurbished and we are delighted to be able to use it as a team.
“During training
sessions and matches we often have players who are substituted. Previously they
would just have run up and down to keep active and warm but now they’ll be able
to be occupied and keep fit using the play equipment.”
Young
Brooklands Dragons player Ryan Hill, 11, who is part of the Lazio side who have
been the champions of South Manchester for two seasons, said: “It is really fun and is a very good play area,” he said. “I think
it’ll help to attract the younger children and I particularly like the climbing
net on the side which you have to scramble up.
“Parents
of players can eat their Sunday lunch, watch their children play and watch the
matches we are playing, it’s ideal really.”
Each Creative Play
playground is designed to suit the client’s specifications, depending on their
budget and location.
All of Creative
Play’s equipment is designed and manufactured in Chester by the company’s in
house teams, who use state of the art equipment and each specialise in timber,
plastic or metal.
Creative Play’s own
teams install all of the equipment and surfacing to meet the requirements of
the client and their own rigorous quality standards.
