Merstham recreation ground refurbishment
Pages in Merstham recreation ground refurbishment
- 1. You are here: Merstham Rec - a park for everyone
- 2. Merstham Rec consultation
1. Merstham Rec - a park for everyone
Refurbishment works
Blakedown Landscapes, our main contractor, has delivered comprehensive works to refurbish Merstham Rec. The upgrade works began in May 2024 and the main area opened to the public in May 2025. The contractor continues to work in the Pavilion, and it should be finalised in the next few weeks.
Following extensive consultation with residents, local groups, organisations and sports clubs, the aims of the refurbishment were to encourage:
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play and fun
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access for all
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an asset for the community
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access to nature
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improved wellbeing
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ways to help people be active
We are now proud to offer:
- a new pavilion with a café kiosk, toilets and changing rooms with solar panels and a green roof
- a new play area with equipment for children of all ages and abilities
- a parkour course for over 12s
- an outdoor gym
- an improved network of footpaths with better accessibility for wheelchairs and buggies
- a picnic area and community orchard
- new trees, landscaping and swales to improve drainage
- refurbishment of the water channel
The main facilities are centrally located in a ‘green heart’ for users’ convenience and to retain plenty of open space for sports pitches.
Play area
The play area at Merstham Rec was designed to a high standard of accessibility with ‘Plan Inclusive Play Area’ (PiPA) input. It aims to deliver the three core elements essential to any inclusive play space - Accessibility, Nurturing the Senses and Dynamic Play. The design of the play area achieved ‘Gold’ accreditation by PiPA.
The play offer is designed to provide play experiences, challenges and opportunities for all abilities and ages. Standard play equipment is integrated with playable and playful landscape features. It offers a large wide accessible slide, seesaws and a roundabout set within a wet pour surface, suitable for wheelchairs. The area also has a number of sensory and percussion instruments and can be accessed by a continuous accessible path.
A shading structure over the seating area is included to allow a more comfortable stay for parents and carers during warm days.
Parkour course
Parkour, also known as free running, is a discipline of training to move freely over and through any terrain, using running, jumping, vaulting, climbing, crawling or rolling. It focuses on developing movement and encourages self-improvement. It challenges physical and mental limits while at the same time offering ways to overcome them.
The parkour course includes a series of walls and bars that encourages movement, play, exploration, fitness and personal development. It offers a variety of challenges and difficulties for different levels and abilities.
Water channel
The water channel was refurbished with the earthworks to allow more water retention, wet planting beds and to create a high quality wildlife habitat.
This area is part of the Holmethorpe Sandpits Complex - Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI). It consists of lagoons, ruderal communities (vegetation that grows where the natural ground has been disturbed), marsh, wet woodland and grassland. It has been selected as county importance for birds for both foraging and breeding and provides safe habitats for both birds and other species, such as reptiles and mammals.
Gravel beach and large boulders will allow residents to informally use this space and enjoy it. This area is currently fenced off to allow Nature to establish. Fence will be removed in 2026.
Football
Football will continue to be the main activity in the Rec with the retention of various pitch sizes, including:
- two 11v11 pitches
- one 9v9 pitch
- one 5v5 pitch.
A new 9v9 football pitch has also been created at Battlebridge Recreation Ground and provides a new, high quality grass pitch that will be available for use by local football clubs and their youth teams.
The construction of the new pitch used a total of 400 tonnes of imported topsoil and over 200 tonnes of sport sand to create a quality base for the new grass pitch. This new quality pitch will support football development in the local area and will be ready to use for the football season 2025/26.