Bellway Latimer creates new outdoor play area for Teversham Pre-school

Teversham Pre-school’s new outdoor play area has been officially unveiled following a major renovation by the Bellway Latimer team from Springstead Village.

Local MP Pippa Heylings cut the ribbon on the new facility at a ceremony attended by around 40 people, including staff, pupils, parents, local councillors and representatives from Bellway Latimer on Friday 19 June.

The revamped play space features a new asphalt area with imitation grass, a large sandpit, Wendy house and writing shed, along with play equipment including monkey bars, plus planters for the children to grow fruit. New perimeter fencing has also been installed.

The renovation took place over a two-week period during the Easter holidays, with Bellway Latimer – which is building homes at the nearby Springstead Village development in Cherry Hinton – and its contractors providing the equipment and carrying out the work free of charge.

The new play area has been opened alongside a new main building for the pre-school, which is run by Teversham Church of England Primary School. The new pre-school building, which replaces the previous portable building on the site, was funded by Cambridgeshire County Council.

However, with no local authority funding available to upgrade the outdoor play space, which had seen better days, Parish Councillor Ian Robinson, a governor at the school, approached Bellway Latimer at the end of last year to see if they could help.

After hearing about the pre-school’s vision for the new outdoor play space, Bellway Latimer’s Engineering Manager Paul Keating volunteered to lead the project, and worked closely with the pre-school to ensure the design of the new facility met the needs of the children.

Rebecca Simpkin Smith, Headteacher at Teversham Church of England Primary School, said: “The new outdoor play area which has been created by Bellway Latimer has 100 per cent exceeded our greatest expectations. We had a vision for what we wanted to achieve but they came up with their own ideas for what was possible and we are delighted with the outcome.

“It has completely transformed the way the children play. They absolutely love it and the parents think it’s wonderful. The play equipment has been built around the needs of the children and is really supporting their development which is brilliant.

“We are so grateful to Bellway Latimer for what they have done for us. Before their involvement we did get some quotes for the work we wanted to do but the figures were so completely out of reach that we could never have fundraised for it in a million years.

“All the way through the project, Paul has shown a genuine interest and commitment to making things better for our children. He has really wanted to get under the skin of what we were trying to create and it has made us all feel quite emotional. On the last day of the Easter holidays, there were about 20 people from the Springstead Village site at the school making sure the work was finished on time. The level of support has been absolutely phenomenal.”

Bellway Latimer is a joint venture between national housebuilder Bellway and Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Group.

Paul Keating, Engineering Manager at Bellway Latimer, said: “It was a real pleasure to attend the official unveiling of the new early years outdoor area at Teversham Church of England Primary School. Building strong and long-lasting relationships with the local community has been one of our main priorities since we started work at Springstead Village and this project exemplifies that.

“The project has been a real labour of love for myself, the site team and our contractors who have relished the opportunity to use their skills, resources and expertise to create this fabulous facility for the school and I would like to thank them for all their hard work. We hope the new playground is enjoyed by pupils being active and spending time with their friends both now and in the years to come.”

Several Bellway Latimer contractors worked on the project. Anderson carried out the groundworks and asphalt surfacing, Proludic Ltd installed the imitation grass, and the sand pit, new fencing, planters and fruit trees were provided by Island Landscapes Ltd. Tree removal and hedge trimming was carried out by Anglian Landscaping Ltd, Colne Valley Electrical installed lighting in the new storage container, and Darwin Nurseries donated plants and seeds.

Springstead Village is a sustainable new community of 1,200 homes being created on a 138-acre site off Cherry Hinton Road.

For more information about the homes at Springstead Village, call the sales team on 01223 081346 or visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/essex/springstead-village.

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