During 2024, Rhino Play were asked to provide designs & quotes for this very prestigious riverside play area in the beautiful coastal village of Shaldon, that sits opposite Teignmouth in the River Teign estuary in South Devon.
Shaldon Parish Council were particularly interested in the fact that Rhino Play offers playground equipment, not only in beautiful Redwood, but also in a very substantial, appealing sustainable & salt water resistant recycled plastic.
The ability that we at Rhino Play have is in the fact that we can design, manufacture & install play equipment in any of these materials & in a way that suits the environment that it’s designed for.
Before the tender process & following meetings for design & consultancy, we altered the design around 7-8 times to ensure that everyone’s voice was heard & that we & the local council had adapted or aimed the play area at exactly the right target audience.
The council investigated thoroughly the benefits & pitfalls of so many areas & in various materials, this was a once in a lifetime chance to get this right, so together worked very hard. The council looked into Robinia, pine & various other materials but discarded these either after looking at the lifespans or the issues that other clients have with these materials elsewhere.
Rhino Play was chosen eventually due to the references that were provided, the materials that were offered & the ability to work closely with the council in adapting the equipment & areas around the park to suit all needs.
During January, February & March of 2025 the Rhino Play teams battled the elements that the Atlantic chucked at them in this exposed setting, but worked tirelessly to create the most fantastic play area.
We infilled a low area with aggregate to help prevent flooding & laid the areas out to our bound together & pre tested Rubber Mulch in our green & brown Forest Mix, all at 40mm thick.
We worked alongside a local fencing contractor & local people who planted the area with shrubs, trees & a willow dome, in order to create the wow factor required. We also turfed the areas to make good & tidy, flew through the ROSPA inspection with flying colours & managed to meet the opening date with a couple of weeks to spare!
As you can see from the photos, the end result is amazing. The park was officially opened by local artist & business woman Laura Wall, to a very happy crowd of people on a lovely sunny day.
Please discuss your project ideas with us to see how we can work with you to create your ‘wow factor’ play area, anywhere in the UK.
Approx value £100k + vat