A village community hall will be opening its new playground later this month with another £10,000 approved by the council to complete the project.

Woodlands Playground at the Woodlands Community Hall in Headley Down is currently undergoing a £250,000 makeover.

There will be a brand new accessible play area, multi-use games zone, climbing blocks and a tennis table, all things the residents said they wanted.

The project was approved by East Hampshire District Council in July 2023 with £220,000 coming from housing developer contributions, with an additional £25,000 from the council’s welfare fund and £5,000 from Headley Parish Council’s neighbourhood community infrastructure levy funding.

The cabinet approved a decision on June 5 to approve another £10,000 for the project, bringing the revised spend to £259,745.60.

Work started at the play area on April 28 and it is set to reopen on Monday, June 23, the council said.

The playground being closed during refurbishment means some car parking will be out of action and access around Woodlands Community Hall will be limited, said the council.

Council documents said: “This project will seek to improve the open space and play area at a vital community facility and open space for the residents in Headley Down, which is one of the most deprived areas in East Hampshire. 

“The project will contribute to the council’s corporate priority of a ‘safer, healthier and more active East Hampshire’. “

It said the Woodlands recreation ground, is part of an ‘active environment’ focused on encouraging not just sport but physical activity such as walking, sport, exercise, children’s play and outdoor leisure to improve access to lead a healthier lifestyle.

A Headley Down residents’ survey in 2021 showed 82 percent wanted to be more physically active by developing the open space, including the multi-use games area, play area, and to provide better teen equipment. There was also the need for new infrastructure, including seating, outdoor gym equipment and outdoor table tennis tables, said the report.

Kompan Limited is responsible for the refurbishment of the Woodlands Hall play area.