The new-look play park at The Ham has opened today (Wednesday, February 1) after more than two years of delays and setbacks.

The remodelled and re-equipped play park features a zip wire, a climbing wall, slides, swings, a trampoline, boat activity centres and a sandpit with some hidden ‘fossils’ to discover. The park has been reconfigured with a porous natural gravel pathway winding its way from one end to the other and extra seating areas including an area with sunshade. The play area has been designed to reflect Sidmouth’s coast and seaside setting, and even incorporates a piece of the town’s fishing history.

New signage will soon be in place and planting will be added as finishing touches.

Sidmouth Town Council says it is ‘delighted’ that the play park is finally finished and open. The council had been planning upgrades to the Long Park and Ham play areas since 2020, but the project has been beset with problems from the start – all of them beyond the council’s control. The Covid pandemic was a major setback, leading to a shortage of companies able to tender for the work, and key materials were also in short supply.  

The Long Park play area was finally completed last autumn and the council hoped to have the Ham play park open in time for the Christmas holidays, but a spell of very wet weather in November forced the works team to leave the site for a while so that it could drain and dry out.

Cllr Louise Cole, one of the project leads, said: “I am so pleased the park is now finished and think it looks fantastic. The materials used and special design details we incorporated make it really attractive, link to our location and hopefully will be a lot of fun!

"We worked hard to incorporate children’s and parents’ ideas and priorities within the budget and limit of the space and we faced lots of delays, so it is really a joy for it now to be complete. Outdoor play spaces are so important for so many reasons. Let’s see it in action now and see what children and young people think.”