Renovations to Martin Luther King adventure playground in Paradise Park are “moving forward”, with architects having made bids for a new building on site, according to Lucy Benson, Head of Adventure Play at Islington Play Association.
The refurbishment of the park, near Highbury and Islington station, includes a new building containing toilets, kitchen facilities, children’s areas and an office, as well as capacity for flood lighting, has been halted since the Covid outbreak.
After being shown around the site in September, architects have made their bids for the new building, and “decisions are now being made by budget holders,” Benson said.
Development at the site is still on pause, however Benson is optimistic: “there’s a possibility that we can have some openings for the community.”
Benson said when restrictions were relaxed in July: “we had to put our attention to the services we could open for children and families”, explaining why the project had been delayed.
She spoke of a need to balance the risk of COVID-19 with the risk of damaging children’s mental health and wellbeing, and that they were “really proud” to have made the other four adventure playgrounds into Covid-safe zones.
The Martin Luther King playground is a legacy project that honours the civil rights activist; it adopted its name in 1968, the year of King’s assassination.
