Crawley Borough Council completes Northgate play and youth area refurbishment
Crawley Borough Council has completed refurbishment of the Northgate play area and Northgate youth area at Northgate Playing Fields as part of the latest phase of its ambitious programme to revitalise play areas across the borough.
This refurbishment forms part of the council’s wider playground investment programme, fully funded through developer contributions via Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments.
The Mayor of Crawley, Councillor Sharmila Sivarajah, joined Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of Crawley Borough Council, Councillor Chris Mullins, Cabinet member for Leisure and Wellbeing, and local ward councillors Sue Mullins and Khayla Abu Mosa, for an official visit to the newly refurbished play and youth spaces.
At Northgate play area, the design is inspired by woodland themes, reflected in the play equipment and scenery features. The new play equipment will include eight‑person woodland‑themed springer, toddler multi-play unit, and a bespoke scenery area incorporating play panels designed to provide visual and tactile stimulation.
At Northgate youth area, the refurbishment will include a metal zipline, Diabolo multiplay unit (with double width slide), double perch standing seesaw, Monsoon swing, junior monkey bars, and a basket swing.
Both sites now benefit from new safer surfacing, as well as enhanced paths and access routes to improve safety, inclusivity, and ease of use for all visitors.
Councillor Chris Mullins, Cabinet member for Leisure and Wellbeing, said: “It’s fantastic to see the Northgate play and youth areas transformed into exciting, high‑quality spaces for children and young people. These improvements not only support physical activity and wellbeing but also help create welcoming community spaces for local families to enjoy. It’s great to see this investment is already making a positive difference.”
Tim Bird, Senior Area Manager (South-East) for Proludic Ltd, said: “We’re particularly proud of the Northgate Play and Youth Areas, as the woodland inspired design allowed us to create something truly special for the community. Despite the challenging weather conditions throughout the build, our team worked hard to keep the project on track. We also took the opportunity to resolve several long-standing drainage issues on site by raising sections of the play surfacing, installing a new wet pour area in the Youth Zone and laying soakaways to improve drainage. It’s been a rewarding project, and we’re delighted to see the space now open and being enjoyed by local families."