Playgrounds for pensioners

8:40am Thursday 24th July 2008

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Councillor agreed more than £40,000 of funding this week for two playgrounds with a difference - ones aimed at old age pensioners.

At a meeting of its ruling executive committee on Monday night, Three Rivers District Council finalised proposals to build two parks at sites in Leavesden Park and the Rickmansworth Aquadrome.

Instead of the usual array of slides, roundabouts and swings, the planned facilities, which could be open by the end of the year, will offer a range of gymnasium-type machines designed to promote gentle and soothing exercise to problem body parts like the legs, hips and back.

First tested in Germany, play parks for the elderly remain rare in the UK, with the first opening in Manchester in January.

Marion Birch, chief executive at Age Concern Hertfordshire, said that, although unusual, the parks are an excellent idea.

She said: “It’s certainly a strange idea but strange ideas are often the best ideas. I think my members will quite welcome this. Obviously some will thinks it’s a bad idea but older people are not all the same. Like younger people some are happy and some are miserable; some are active and some are couch potatoes.

“A lot of older people can feel very depressed and lethargic. Keeping active helps combat these feelings and can keep them healthy.

“Really it's an outdoor gymnasium more than a play park.”

Plans will be finalised in the coming weeks, with the parks likely to be built nextdoor to existing, more traditional children’s facilities. Planning applications will then be submitted before building work can begin.

Three Rivers District Council Leader Ann Shaw said she had every confidence in the parks’ success but admitted many ratepayers would have their doubts.

She said: “These have been a huge success in other parts of the country. We are here to provide activities and opportunities to for all ages across the community. If this helps to promote healthy lifestyles it can only be a good thing.”