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(woman) The project
is the Playground At Theydon
Resurfacing Project.
We are in Theydon Bois,
in a small village in the east of England.
We applied for money
from the Big Lottery Fund because
we had a flooring of bark before that,
and it presented us with problems.
We had a school for disabled children
that came to use the playground.
They had difficulty on the flooring
with wheelchairs and frames.
We were spending about £3,000 a year
topping up the bark
to meet safety requirements.
So we needed to find an alternative
to the bark flooring.
It was very muddy in the winter,
so it wasn't used much as a playground
because of the weather conditions.
In the summer it was very dusty.
That's what prompted us
to look into a different surface.
That's when came up
with the rubber wetpour surface.
It's quite a shock
to walk by or come on it
and feel the difference for a start.
If children fall,
it's really soft and quite spongy.
Ever since, it's completely used
every single day.
Even on Christmas Day,
you'll see people on here.
People come from all over to use it.
It's lovely being in Theydon Bois
and having this to take the kids to.
It's easy to maintain.
We can sweep up nicely.
We know if there's any sort of rubbish
that shouldn't be on the floor,
and it can be picked up.
It's just fantastic. It weathers well.
We come here after pre-school,
after school, in-between times, weekends.
You name it, we're all here
and you know you'll open the gate
and somebody you know will be here,
which is lovely.
Kate's learnt to walk on this new surface
chasing her brothers around.
I must admit, I feel proud
knowing that when I see everybody using it
that I was part of the process,
helping to get the resurfacing work done.
I'm sure the rest of the committee
feel exactly the same.
We had a celebration for the playground
after the flooring went down.
The mums and the children
have said how much they enjoy it.
We've had children and parents
from other villages in the area
come to the playground.
The reaction has been brilliant.
(children) We love our playground.