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Craythorn Communications, based in the Parish of Halwill, North Devon is helping the local pre-school playgroup to raise awareness of their fund raising effort to rebuild and re-invigorate the local playing fields. Halwill playing field was originally a field. Some time in the dim and distant past British Rail bought part of the field to make the railway station and line that is now part of the Ruby Trail, thus it became part field and part railway siding. In 1973 Halwill Parish Council purchased from British Rail their part of the now playing field, and the remaining field part was donated by Mr Alfred White and his wife Winifred in 1975; he wanted it to be used for the children and young people of Halwill.  Mr and Mrs White on their Golden Wedding As mentioned above part of the playing field was used by the railway for the storage of trucks and carriages and leading up to D-day it was used to store trucks loaded with ammunition in preparation to send it to our soldiers. In the original plans for the playing field the football pitch is clearly marked as such with the first game being played in1976. The play equipment was to be a ‘merry-go-round’, swings and a slide. Once the field had been handed over in 1975 play equipment was being sought but it was not until 1977 that the first set of swings were in place having been made by a Mr Whitfield. Some smaller second-hand swings were also purchased for £16 for the younger children. In 1978 A small climbing frame was looked into and duly purchased and installed and in 1981 the locally famous slide was made by Stacey’s of Clawton for the grand price of £766, it was installed, but by whom, we’re not sure. The steps and slide extension were added at a later date for safety reasons. Through out this time the Parish Council have been responsible for its upkeep and maintenance. Today’s child needs to be inspired by colourful, challenging but safe play equipment that they really want to play on to better the stimulus that they get from the television and computers; Halwill playgroup visit the park often but find that there is not a lot suitable for pre-schoolers to play on and the mother and toddler group don’t use it at all as there is nothing that is relevant to them. Transport is another problem, many families have to rely on buses to take them to places with a park so that their children can play and have the experience of going to a park, and unfortunately this is not a totally reliable service. To-day the climbing frame is no more and the swings have long been replaced with newer models but the slide is still there along with a couple of dilapidated spring bouncers and a wood and chain assault course. We are trying to raise enough money to replace these ‘elderly’ items with some bright and inspiring equipment for children of all ages to benefit from. This is going to cost in the region of £75,000 and we are relying heavily on grants and donations from inside and outside the area. Please, if you think you may be able to help us in any financial way at all or need more information before you do please contact Shelley Knight on 01409 221761, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Halwill Parish Council, PO Box 16, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5ZG.
Click the image below for a larger version of the proposed plans
Thanks to Lorna Hutchings and Sue Endacott (daughter and grand daughter) of Mr White for supplying the history of Halwill Playing Field. |
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