Summer Play Event marks the opening of new play area in village near Buckingham

Maids Moreton is hosting Summer Play Event, to celebrate the opening of its long-awaited new play area.

The £120,000 project to overhaul the Avenue Road play area has taken nearly four years, starting off with a survey of local parents asking them what equipment they most wanted in a new playground.

Maids Moreton Parish Council then obtained quotes from several companies based on the items most requested by children and parents.

The parish council then successfully approached the Buckingham & Villages Communities Board for a contribution of £10,750 towards the £120,000 overall cost. A further grant of around £95,000 from FCC was agreed in December 2022.

The parish council was then able to place the order with Milton Keynes-based Kompan, the company it felt could offer the most suitable equipment across a two-to-12-year age range.

The playground will be officially opened by Buckingham MP Greg Smith at a Summer Play Event on Friday, August 4. Run by Milton Keynes Play Association and sponsored by Maids Moreton Parish Council, the event takes place from 10.30am to 3.30pm, with a bouncy caste, giant games and arts and crafts. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Parish council chairman Graham Maw said: “Our local schoolchildren are very excited to see the new playground installed, as our old playground had to be closed for nearly a year due to health and safety issues caused by last year’s very hot summer.”