For local children, playgrounds are a world beyond a screen. The place to build friendships and community. A space to learn that falling over is fine and scraping your knee is something to get over.

The strength of feeling I hear every day is exactly why playgrounds are a big part of my work locally and nationally. They are more than play areas because, for many, they’re one of the few spaces where kids can be kids.

I can’t wait to see improvements rolling out across Bournemouth East and, because we’ve campaigned for these together, this is the result of all your efforts. I’ll keep sharing big updates, so families aren’t left guessing.

After establishing and chairing a cross-party group on play in Parliament and securing two playground debates, in two years doubling the number since 2008, it finally feels like we have real momentum.

Mallard Road Playground

When I saw the final design for Mallard Road, I felt proud of our local young people who have worked so hard alongside me to put playgrounds firmly on the local agenda.

I take my hat off to local play champion Rio, who roused the community, crunched the numbers, and organised a great campaign.

Rio brought me to Mallard Road to meet him and his mum, and I proudly represented him and park users to decision-makers. This design is the result of Rio’s efforts. This £104,000 investment is all because of him.

Ashley Road Playground in Kings Park

Kings Park is a lifeline for families. Every time I visit schools, children tell me about how much they love the playgrounds and how much they want safe, exciting play equipment, so they can swap their Switch for swings.

When I saw the final design for Kings Park, I thought about the last day of primary school last year, when Year 6 students at King’s Park Academy staged their first-ever protest, all about Kings Park Playground.

It was an honour to join them, hear what equipment they want, see them speak up for something that matters to them, and represent their great ideas to decision-makers.

I thought about the responses to my survey and roundtables, with parents and children saying how important this is as an after-school hub for so many schools, how it provides vital decompression after school, how its state has been seen as symbolic of wider failures.

I hope that this £186,200 investment renews a place to form friendships, a space to learn that falling over is fine and understand that scraping your knee is something to get over.

Fisherman’s Walk Playground

Fisherman’s Walk Play Park now has new equipment, with funding secured by Labour Councillor Eleanor Connolly, the Boscombe and Pokesdown Neighbourhood Plan steering group, and the Boscombe Forum.

New swings, a play boat, and specialist toddler play and agility equipment have been installed – perfect for those half term adventures!

Churchill Gardens Playground

With a café, fitness equipment, and food growing area, Churchill Gardens is a busy green space. What makes the park so vital is the play area, but this has needed dedicated spaces for older and younger pupils at St Clement’s and St John’s Infants, Bethany Junior School and King’s Park Academy.

While the swing frames have recently received repairs and replacement chains and seats, the overall site is very much in need of refurbishment, and a £200,000 investment is being lined up.

Harewood Playgrounds

BCP plan to close the Harewood playgrounds and I think this is wrong. I’m calling on BCP Council to stop this cut and save Harewood playgrounds.

Play isn’t a luxury — it’s essential for children to enjoy themselves, build friendships, get away from screens, and forge stronger communities.

Please sign my petition to save the Harewood playgrounds now. And please share this petition with people who may be interested locally.

Noyce Gardens Playground

Few things sit at the heart of a community like a playground. I hope local children benefit from this £181,500 investment, beginning on-site on 10 August and (we’re told) completing by mid-September. For so many children, playgrounds can become a world beyond a screen.

Near Jewell Academy, Noyce Gardens will see everything from swings and slides to zip-wires and climbing equipment. The site will have four distinct zones – for toddlers, primary school ages, and teens, as well as a sensory area to make play accessible and inclusive.

Screen time may be rising, but now local opportunities for outdoor play are rising, too, and soon we’ll see better, safer, and inclusive equipment here.

Muscliff Park Playground

I’m trying to build a town where every child in every postcode grows up with freedom, fun, and space to thrive, and I especially want that for the children growing up in BH9.

A £134,700 investment in Mucliff Park will ensure every child can play with, among other things, an inclusive seesaw, inclusive swings, and sensory, interactive play panels.

I’ve heard repeatedly how much families want a brilliant playground on their doorstep, not just for ease but for the sense of safety it offers. That’s why I’m still concerned about plans to close 12 playgrounds in Muscliff, Strouden Park, and Townsend.

Children notice everything and they’ll notice the rusting slides that get fenced off, the broken swings that never get fixed, the zipwires that disappear without warning. We need more investments in precious playtime closer to home, too.