Surrey Heath Borough Council is asking families in Camberley to help shape redesigns for two local play areas. Residents living near Heatherside Recreation Ground and Frimley Green Recreation Ground are being invited to complete online surveys to share their views on types of play equipment, age ranges, accessibility features and which existing elements should be retained — the feedback will help shape design proposals.
The consultations are part of a larger programme of playground replacements funded from a £900,000 Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allocation. The BBC and council papers say the CIL is made up of payments from developers and is ringfenced for local infrastructure projects, not drawn from day-to-day council tax budgets.
Surrey Heath says annual safety inspections in 2024 and 2025 found the play equipment at several sites had significantly deteriorated and was approaching the point of “uneconomical repair,” leading the council to favour full replacement rather than ongoing patch repairs. Residents have until Sunday 8 February 2026 to submit their feedback. The council expects the chosen designs to go to a public vote and construction to begin in mid-2026 once designs are finalised.
Local reporting and council statements have made clear the programme is being prioritised so many of the borough’s planned leisure and infrastructure projects can be completed ahead of the wider local government reorganisation due to take effect in 2027.
The upgrades follow recent work at the sites, including an outdoor gym at Frimley Green Recreation Ground and planting at Heatherside (including cherry blossom trees), and form part of the council’s broader parks improvement strategy. The council has said these green spaces are important for children’s physical and social development. More detail on the funding and the executive decisions behind the programme is available in council reports and the public executive papers.
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