Reston Play Park brought back to life by local community

A community project to bring Reston's local playground back to life benefits the community as a whole.

Two years ago, resident concern about the local play area's condition, and its equipment's suitability for all children in the village and the surrounding area, was brought to the attention of Reston and Auchencrow Community Council.

Working with the Scottish Borders Council (SBC) to ensure the project's sustainability, work began to design a park that met the needs and requirements of local people. The aim was to provide an inclusive play park in the village that was accessible to children of all ages and abilities.

Various designs were put forward at a public consultation meeting. Once a new design was agreed upon via a vote, work began to secure funding.  £18,000 of the total amount was awarded from two Funds administered by Foundation Scotland, including £10,000 from Greencoat Drone Hill Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund. This Fund supports a range of community-driven projects across four community council areas in East Berwickshire, with award decisions made by a panel of residents drawn from those areas. Led by Reston and Auchencrow Community Council, this has been a true community project, with funding being secured by the community, for the community. 

The goal was to create a modern park for all local children to enjoy. The design adopted by the community provides multisensory experiences that help children develop sensory, motor, strength and cognitive skills through play.   It is well known that encouraging children and adults to spend time outdoors, in nature, is an excellent way of improving mental health, reducing stress, and increasing happiness – and the happy faces in the park each day certainly proves this!   

And, of course, the children in Reston and Auchencrow have also learned social skills, such as how to share and play cooperatively as a group (well, most of the time!). The park has provided a great opportunity for parents to bond with their children and created a relaxed space for residents to catch up. Children and adults are building new friendships, contributing to an increased sense of community, improving mental health and a feeling of belonging amongst residents. 

Two years of hard work went into bringing Reston Play Park, an incredibly important part of the community, back to life and making it as accessible and enjoyable as possible! The Community Council's photo and video diary showcases the incredible job led by volunteers from day one. 

Kerry Simmonds, who has been a driving force from start to finish within Reston and Auchencrow Community Council, is delighted with the result:

"It has been an incredible achievement and an enormous success with the whole locality. We have never had so many children come to the village, and it has become a destination playpark. The village has never been prouder and are delighted to share their new resource. We have inspired many other communities to do the same and will of course support them fully to achieve their own parks.

 

We are incredibly grateful to Foundation Scotland and the Fund donors for supporting us through difficult times like delays through covid, Brexit and supply issues. It felt like we were never going to get it completed before the end of the year, but we did!

 

Let me reassure you that your [Foundation Scotland, the Donors and Fund Panel’s] faith in our project has enhanced the lives of so many children, young people and entire families and helped to bring not just our village community, but many communities in East Berwickshire, together."