Leudal play area plan

We will ensure that every village has a good central playground. This is a meeting place for the entire neighborhood where young and old, with and without disabilities, enjoy getting together and are encouraged to exercise. You can play and do sports there.

The focus will be on the central play area, but the small play areas will remain playable. If at small playgrounds the equipment is unsafe or worn out, it will no longer be replaced. If the residents want it, small equipment such as a seesaw or stepping stones can still return. In the space that is freed up, even if there is no equipment, it is still possible to play in grass, bushes and on hills.

We want children to be able to play in different ways, such as playing with equipment, in nature or on a square. For each village, we look at the design of a playground for variation in ways of playing, but also in equipment. This way we provide more challenge and play areas that are less quickly bored.

We ensure that in each village you can play sports at or separate from the central playground. The sports offer depends on the residents and their wishes (children, youth and adults). We improve the quality of the central sports place and if enough people want it we can build a new sports place or other sports.

Inclusive play involves, on the one hand, the technical and physical aspects of play: the play environment, the play equipment, and the play activities. On the other hand, it involves the social aspects of play: the play culture—the atmosphere, the players, the manners, and the game itself. Our starting point is that all children should be able to play in a shared play area (inclusive play area). This does not mean that every play activity must be accessible to every child. 

The Samenspeelfonds follows a guideline stating that 70% of play opportunities must be accessible to everyone and 50% of play opportunities must be playable by everyone. We will create two central play areas in the municipality of Leudal that meet this guideline. For the other central play areas, we will work toward meeting this guideline as much as possible. The two inclusive central play areas will be built in Ittervoort and Haelen.

There will be a budget per village center and we will draw up a number of guidelines and requirements for the design of the playgrounds. Residents can help decide which equipment to put in the central areas. Residents can also express their wishes for small playgrounds. If residents themselves want a new spot, then we look together with the village council at what is needed, whether enough people support the idea and whether it fits in with the plans for the other play and sports spots in the village.

The moment we start participation in a village you will be kept informed of the process via this page.

A natural environment is good for people, animals and the environment. When designing playgrounds, we will plant more trees. We will use natural surfaces (grass, sand or wood chips) to prevent heating and provide better drainage. We encourage playing in nature by creating playable greenery such as play bushes, hills and natural elements such as stones and logs to jump over. In this way we make the play area even more playable, livable and climate-proof. Important in the choice of greenery is that we can maintain it well.

Everyone should have the opportunity to play outside, which is why play areas are publicly accessible. For playgrounds that are not always public now, such as schoolyards or clubs, we are looking at how to open them up. If we build a new school, the playground will always be open.