Olympic Champion Tom Reopens Brook Green Playgound

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With new activities galore for children of all ages

 

London 2012 gold medal rower Tom James returned to his roots this week when he officially opened the brand new Brook Green adventure playground.

The double Olympic champion used to play on Brook Green om Hammersmith, as a child and mixed with excited local schoolchildren at the opening event.

The playground features activities for children of all ages. For the under-fives, there is a sandpit, swings, a bouncy castle and wooden play houses.

Older children can enjoy a climbing web, a climbing wall, rocks, two mounds linked by a bridge and a stream going into a larger sandpit.

The playground cost over £200,000, with Hammersmith & Fulham Council and the Friends of Brook Green both contributing in the region of £100,000.

Speaking at the event, Tom James said: "This is really exciting. When I was invited down to open the playground I had no idea what to expect but it's fantastic.

" It's great that the community and the council have come together to make this a reality. I used to play here when I was a child and I hope that all these children will get as much enjoyment as I did out of the area."

Architects De Rosee SA also attended the opening to consult local people about their proposals for a new pavilion for the Green, illustrated here. They say: " The impact of this pavilion is more far-reaching than its modest dimensions suggest. Part of an ongoing programme to regenerate the Green, which consists of park space, tennis courts and a playground, the pavilion provides an important public facility (WC's) but also introduces something new: a point of sale kiosk within the public space.

" The selection of stone as the primary building material not only promotes a greater aspiration for the role of this pavilion than its timber predecessor, but it also gives it a civic quality that is reminiscent of the early Victorian days. "

Susannah Frieze, of the Friends of Brook Green, says: " Now that we’ve got the playground re-designed, landscaped and beautifully fitted-out, we will move on to consulting residents and workers, awareness-raising and fund-raising for a new Pavilion and improving the lighting, security and amenities of this beautiful corner of Hammersmith."

 

 

November 16, 2012