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Princess Diana playground granted £3m upgrade

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC News
Royal Parks An artist's impression of a galleon ship which will be at the centre of a refurbished play area. Silhoutes can be seen on the sand while the ship is complete with a crow's nest lookout and a slide.Royal Parks
The current galleon at the playground will be replaced with a new wooden ship - complete with a crow's nest, wheel, telescope and slide

A £3m refurbishment of a playground built in memory of Princess Diana is going ahead after planning permission was granted by a west London council.

Located near Kensington Palace and opened in 2000, it is visited by more than one million children a year, making it one of London's most popular play areas.

Plans to upgrade the playground were approved by Kensington and Chelsea Council on 8 May following a public consultation which ended last month.

Andy Williams, park manager for Kensington Gardens, said the makeover will be funded by the Royal Parks charity and through a mixture of private and public donations.

"Working with play specialist providers, our own landscape teams, and the local community we have developed proposals that will continue to make this playground an experience like no other," Mr Williams said.

"The planned accessibility improvements will mean that the playground is open and welcoming to all children."

Royal Parks An artist's impression of a wooden tree house play area structure which is built in Kensington Gardens. Silhouttes of parents can be seen pushing children on wheelchairs as children play in the areaRoyal Parks
The Royal Parks say the new multi-level tree house will be built with 'sustainably-sourced timber'

As part of the £3m upgrade, the Peter Pan-themed area will get a pirate ship upgrade, as well as a multiple-level tree house.

The current galleon ship at the playground will be replaced with a new galleon - complete with a crow's nest, ship's wheel and telescope.

Built over three levels, it will be wheelchair accessible and will take about six months to complete.

The Royal Parks charity, which is responsible for the playground in Kensington Gardens, insisted the approved plans would "retain the characteristics of the existing Peter Pan-inspired playground".

Previously, the charity said it would also "provide more accessible and inclusive play, as well as challenging physical play, so that children of all abilities can enjoy creative and imaginative play together".

In addition to the more accessible galleon ship, the tree house will have a suspension bridge, while the Mermaid Fountain will also be redesigned to expand the water and sand play area.

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