The rebuilt Kings Park play area on Ashley Road reopened on 30 October with a zip wire and a wheelchair-accessible roundabout. The formal opening is at 3pm today.

The play area at Kings Park is open again. BCP Council says the rebuild is finished and children have been back on it since Friday 30 October, the last day of half term.

A formal opening takes place at 3pm today, Monday 2 November, the council’s announcement says.

Work started on 1 September. When we reported the start, the council expected it to take about seven weeks and finish in mid-October. It slipped twice, to 23 and then 29 October, before reopening a day after that.

What is in the new play area

The council says the design has a nature theme and came out of ideas from local families. It includes:

  • a large multi-play unit with ramped access at the centre
  • a brand-new zip wire
  • swings, a wide slide and climbing equipment
  • a carousel
  • a wheelchair-accessible roundabout
  • an inclusive see-saw

The council says the layout mixes harder climbing for older children with quieter sections.

What it cost

The council’s announcement puts the spend at £185,000. Its Plan for Play project page lists the budget as £186,200. The money comes from the Community Infrastructure Levy, the charge paid by developers on new building.

Kings Park is the largest Bournemouth budget in this round of the council’s Plan for Play strategy. Councillors approved that strategy in December 2024. The council says it is spending more than £4.6 million across about 100 play areas.

Cllr Andy Hadley, the portfolio holder for parks, called Kings Park “one of our area’s most valued green spaces”. Cllr Sandra Moore, who holds the play strategy brief, said the rebuild meant “many in the community will benefit for many years to come”.

What it means for you

  • Where: the play area is on the Ashley Road side of Kings Park, Boscombe, BH1 4NN.
  • It is open now. The 3pm event today is a formal opening, not the first day.
  • Other Bournemouth sites are still shut. On 30 October the council’s project page still showed Noyce Gardens as due “end October”, Muscliff Park in early November and Churchill Gardens phase 1 on 6 November. Anchor Close in Kinson is due mid-November. Our play area rebuilds tracker has the full table and is updated as each one reopens.
  • Mallard Road reopened on 9 October.

Sources: BCP Council, Kings Park play area re-opens after major refurbishment, 30 October 2026; BCP Projects, Plan for Play concept plans, updated 30 October 2026.