Perth’s City of Belmont has recently spent over $1 million to develop a new feature playground. Providing a family oriented activity centre, the playground has a desert island theme.
It features a volcano and a ruined village, as well as specialised play equipment such as a flying fox and walking bridges. It has a range of facilities for families, such as barbecues, park furniture, shaded areas and a popular skate park, as well as walking tracks which link the park with the Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre.
The park has been designed to meet the needs of local families, as well as encouraging a sense of community, and supporting Council’s recreational framework. Council aims to provide for sustainable physical activity as well as encouraging members of the community to adopt healthy lifestyle practices.
Construction began in January of this year. The project comes in the wake of the Western Australian Premier’s Physical Activity Taskforce, which noted in October 2004 that there is an increasing number of children who are overweight or obese. It also found that physical activity tended to decrease as children grew older.
The Faulkner Park Feature Playground was officially opened in September. Tranby Primary School students from Rivervale were the first to enjoy the new facilities.
