SMP were chosen to provide a play area for the Llanelli Rural Council. The design included zones for Toddlers, Seniors, Fitness, Skate, Teen Shelters and the hugely popular Parkour. Parkour has a huge following in Llanelli and one of the best known Parkour groups in the UK are “Kinetic Wales” where several of their teams are based in Llwynhendy. The “Freemove” Parkour system installed included Monkey Gaps (units used to climb, jump off, vault and other tricks) and Vault Alley (units designed to encourage a transition from one to another in a variety of different ways).

People in the south Wiltshire community have pulled together to raise £155,000 to create better facilities for their children. Liz Murray, who moved to Larkhill two years ago, noticed the lack of play facilities for children and so she started fundraising. Soon her enthusiasm spread to other families and they soon won the backing of Larkhill Garrison as well as the continued support of the community partnership.  

After 12 months of hard work the Friendship Play Park, which is one of the largest play facilities in MoD housing areas in the country, has innovative equipment designed to promote playing together and suitable for children up to 12 years old. The play area installed by SMP Playgrounds is a great example of natural landscape incorporating both the traditional wooden and long life metal elements of play equipment.

To Read more about the Larkhill Community Play Park Project and to see photos please Click here.

A playground in Witney underwent a £48,000 makeover based on a design picked out by children from a nearby school.

Wood Green Play Area underwent a revamp to create a more inclusive experience for children of all ages and updated its play equipment. Children on the school council at Witney Community Primary School viewed all the proposed designs for the renovation during a consultation at which stage SMP’s design has been selected.

The new playpark features a maxima multiplay system, which is aimed at children aged five upwards and includes a slide, climbing wall and upright swing. There is also Freeride which provides an aerobic workout for older children, and an octopus seesaw for younger users.

To watch a film by Witney TV of this four month project that sees Woodgreen Playpark being transformed into an exciting new childrens adventure please Click here.

SMP Playgrounds are delighted to announce we will be exhibiting with PlaydirectUK.com at this years LIW. We will be exhibiting the latest innovation - Imagination Playground, a unique playground in a box concept that promotes unstructured free play.

Click here to see more about the product: http://www.playdirectuk.com/imagination-playground.php for photogrpahs of our recent event at Corams Fields: http://bit.ly/CoramsFields

You'll find us on Stand A185 in Hall 17  - you'll want to repregister first to avoid the entrance fee http://bit.ly/LIW2011registration

Visit the Leisure Industry Week Website direct www.liw.co.uk

SMP look forward to welcoming you onto the stand!

SMP are pleased to announce that following a tender process we have been selected to provide junior and senior play areas for a large five site project with the London Borough of Barnet at a total value of £330k. These sites include Mill Hill Park, Friary Park, Riverside Walk, Windsor Openspace and Lyttleton Playing Fields. The London Borough of Barnet is a successful suburb with a rising child population and over 40 play areas, with provision for children from 2 to 14 years old. The installations of these sites are planned to commence in August and are due for completion in November this year!

Arena Duo is the new, high-performance and cost-competitive range of Multi-Sports Systems available from SMP. The unique feature is Arena Duo's versatility and inherent flexibility, which means the range can be customised and re-configured to suit all different-sized play sites and games areas. Due to its innovative design and construction, and its high-accuracy 'super rebound' capability, Duo offers a fantastic sporting environment and mix.

SMP were delighted to be part of the National Play Day at Beachfileds Park on the Isle of Sheppey that was organised by the Swale Borough Council. It was a great event for the local community and the children to come out and try many sport and other activities including SMP’s ‘Find the Zingo’ competition! The children really enjoyed themselves and we were pleased to announce that the winner of our competition was Jordan Skinner from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent.

SMP have now released 6 new Arena Systems including Orlando, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Lincoln, Lincoln with Basketball, Provo, Sioux and 2 Practice Hoops – Single and Double. The new systems offer a fantastic sporting environment and mix suitable for children of all ages. SMP’s ever popular Arena systems are durable, long lasting and designed for any weather and with its impressive design it promotes both social and active play amongst children. SMP’s Arena Range represent an ideal place for children to meet and interact whether shooting hoops or kicking a ball about with friends!

To find out more about new Arena Systems please click here.

SMP are pleased to introduce two newest additions to its product portfolio! The first one Duel, is an exceptional rotating swing that has been designed for two users and inspired by its big brother TITAN. Needing more than one user, Dual encourages social interaction and co-operation amongst its users and more importantly it requires physical work out promoting health and wellbeing. Freestyler is another exciting and unique swing that has been designed for older children so they can enjoy the challenging ride and be creative with their movements!

To view Duel please click here and to view Freestyler click here.

SMP’s new Fundraising Consultancy Services launched at Playfair 2011 help voluntary and community groups to both identify and access sources of funding for a project, and show how to maximise the chances of getting a grant from a range of local, regional, national and European funding providers that exist. Our new brochure ‘Sowing the Seeds’ explains about these Fundraising Services including when and how to take advantage of them. The structure of the brochure is divided into sections and chapters that mirror the different stages of every fundraising project.

SMP employs a team of professional fundraisers to identify and secure external funds for projects. In the North led by Karen Jones who has over 11 years experience and is an active member of the Institute of Fundraising, and in the South by Sylvia Yates who has extensive expertise from her work with local authorities, schools and local community groups.

To download this brochure click here or to view on the website click here. Alternatively call Customer Services on 0845 260 1655

Sally Gunnell, one of the UK's greatest athletes gave a speech about the benefits of play at this year's Playfair trade show on 21st June in Warwickshire. Sally talked about her journey into sport as an active youth and of the vital link between play and healthy lifestyles for children. Sally also spared some time on this day and visited us on the SMP stand!

Sally Gunnell OBE has a special place in the nation's hearts as one of Britain's most popular female sportspeople. She is the only woman ever to hold four major track titles concurrently – Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth. At the same time, Sally has supported petitions and commented on government cuts to school sports and the play sector.

In the 1970's Collingwood Estate had a few pieces of Play Equipment. Sadly by the 80's, the equipment was no longer fit for use and was removed. The Estate has waited the best part of thirty years to get a play area reinstated for the community. For the past three years Dennis Paul from Sutton Housing Partnership and Councillor Janet Lowne along with many other key dedicated people from the Residents Association, have worked tirelessly to raise funds, consult the local residents and get the play area installed. Today was a real sense of achievement for the team working for the Collingwood Estate. Dennis Paul commented " It is an excellent local facility and it has turned out just as we wanted it". He also commented that the site is earmarked for some future development as soon as more funds become available.

Marlene Heron also a key person in bringing this play area to life commented "There is a real need in the community. The little kids on the estate needed somewhere to play. Play is so important in the development of children, especially for children who live in flats. It's important for the children to have free entertainment and for mums to be able to see where their kids are playing. Having a play area also brings a sense of community to the area".

Key play items for this junior play area are: Zingo Du Climbing Unit, Swings with Mirage Seat, Seesaw, Rotating Dish, Pogo, Pirouette, Maze game and Talking Tubes. SMP work with many Housing Associations to make play available to all children. Call our Customer Service Team on 0845 260 1655 for your free quotation.    

Girdlestone Park in LB Islington has been a fantastic project for SMP. The launch of our new ARENA DUO system has meant that we could provide the perfect solution for this unique site in Islington. This was an old site where we have removed the existing fencing and added a new ARENA DUO MUGA.

The design of the MUGA enables the maximum playing zone for the site size. The photo shows the special goal SMP designed for this site - customization is an area where SMP really excel. This project was a complex one for our Contracts Team - with a lot of time and dedication they found the solutions to overcome all the obstacles. Some of the challenges posed: The system had to be surface mounted due to drainage systems underground, a special ramp access had to be created using special panels, an old retaining wall had to be repaiered and rebuilt, special posts and panels were required to ensure that there were no litter traps in this unique design.  

It's been really great to learn that Arsenal FC use these areas for community work. SMP are committed to providing communities with excellent Sports and Play facilities and it's fantastic to know that they are going to be well used and enjoyed.

To find out more about ARENA DUO call 0845 260 1655 or [click here] to download your copy of the ARENA Brochure

Hot off the Press and what a great example of how ARENA is the perfect MUGA System for customization! With ARENA you can go custom on just about any aspect! Be it Colour or Size of Playing Zone, Height of the Walls, Skills features, Basketball hoops, Minigoals, gates, surfacing and so much more - We've got it covered! To download a copy of our latest Arena Brochure click here or alternatively email us or call our Customer Service department on 0845 260 1655 for more information!

We've had a tidy up and have decided it's time to have a clear out. So we've put together 15 items of stock with discounts of up to 60%! Call us on 0845 260 1655 or [Email our Sales Team] for more information!

SMP are currently installing a new play area at King George's Playing Field. SMP won the contract through Rhondda Cynon Taff Council's Internal Scoring System.

The park will be open in mid March for the children to enjoy a wide range of SMP play equipment, which will be split into 2 areas.

The design above was the winning design and shows off the great variety this park will have to offer. For the young and adventurous children there will be a Zingo Kvar Unit, a Slide, and other Zingo items complete with stepping stones, ditches and mounds to jump and run around on.

For the older children and young adults they will be able to test their skills and strengths on our Nexus range including the Velocity – Rock Climb and Slide and Tornado which will test their strength as they hang on while the tornado whirls around above their heads. There is also the best selling Freeride to practice and show off their surfing skills and the Hover - which gives a jet ski inpired ride.

Bristol City Council has just awarded SMP a 35K MUGA Site at George Jones Park. The Winning Design is a custom designed MUGA from SMP's new ARENA DUO range. A new range introduced to bring to the market a combined Quality and Value proposition.

The system features the new ARENA DUO panels offering the best rebound accuracy on the market. The system is flexible - offering 1m, 2m, 3m, and 4m sided systems - and cost effective. This system (featured above) will have 4m high sides and 4m high Goal end walls, offering the users the facilities to play football, 5 a side basketball and many more.

Today SMP learned that we are going to Bristol! Horfield Common Play Space will shortly be the proud owner of the 5 arm rotating Titan and the snaky Viper as they take centre stage in the Play Area. Other features in the play area will be the triple Nexus DNA Climbing Poles, Delta Swings, a trampoline and a Zingo play items featuring on a natural play mound. The play mound will be full of play value, with play equipment at the top, wonderful grassy mounds to roll down, a scrambler net for those adventure seekers and for others - the bridge and moat will set the perfect scene for creative play. The project Value for Horfield Common is £90K.  

SMP organised a fundraising Golf day earlier in the summer in order to help fulfil the dreams of many children whose lives are challenged daily by illness. SMP are proud to have been able to support Destination Florida and the fantastic work they do to bring joy to so many lives.

"Destination Florida is a small Northern based charity which specialises in bringing a bit of sunshine into the lives of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses. Every 2 years we take a group of about 75 children to Florida literally for the holiday of a lifetime. Each trip is meticulously planned and involves taking a large support team consisting of doctors, nurses and other carers. Whilst we are in Florida the parents and siblings of the children will hopefully be enjoying a week’s respite at home. The benefit of this can never be underestimated." Destination Florida December 2010.

SMP are delighted to have been asked to provide the Weston Square Play Area in the Vale of Glamorgan. This site went out for consultation online - a trend that is on the increase for Councils to reach out to their local audience. SMP are looking forward to starting work on site in the new year to bring the local community a much needed Play amenity.

SMP (Playgrounds) Ltd are delighted to have been chosen to provide the new Junior and Senior Play Areas in Johnson's Lane, Crowle. The play areas, designed by our dedicated Play Architect Sarah Wallis and chosen by the local community, will truly reflect the local community needs, providing stimulating and exciting play for young people, fitness training for all ages on the Action Stations whilst being in keeping with the natural environment.

Read this weeks article in "This is Scunthorpe" http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/news/Decision-children-vote-design-new-playground/article-2909532-detail/article.html

Walsall Arboretum Sport and Skate Park has been a real success story for both SMP and the Team at Walsall Arboretum. The project that has taken years of hard work and many funding applications to get to this stage. The site comprises SMP's ARENA Multi Use Games Area system and Teenage Shelter Chatroom, a Graffiti wall and a Skate Park by Maverick Industries. 

It was the first project that SMP have done in partnership with Maverick Industries and Geoff Townsend SMP's Operations Director had this to say:

"Working in partnership with Maverick Industries on this project has yielded an excellent result; we achieved an accelerated development of the site, a top quality result and the installation was delivered ahead of schedule. Together we have helped the customer to realise a key long term goal as well as providing fantastic facilities at Walsall Arboretum".

SMP Playgrounds have joined forces with Maverick Industries - one of the UK's top providers of bespoke skate and BMX parks. Walsall Arboretum is the first site where SMP have worked as the primary contractor in partnership with Maverick to create a high spec bespoke park for the local residents. The park was opened on Saturday 13th November, where the local teenagers came along to practice and hone their skills.

SMP provide high quality sport and skate packages. Call us on 0845 260 1655 for more information.

SMP are delighted to announce that following a mini competition selection process, we have been appointed as designer, supplier and construction contractors for a large multi-site project with Oxford City Council. The total project value is £465,000; 10 sites so far have been awarded to SMP with a further 2 sites currently undergoing public consultation. Installation is due to commence in November 2010 with the majority due for completion by December 2010.The winning design for Falcon Close is illustrated above.