WORK to replace one of the busiest play areas in the District has begun, with diggers this week clearing the site in preparation for a major upgrade.

Last year it was announced that the play area in Lister Park, Manningham, would be the first play facility in the District to undergo a refurbishment as part of a £6.4m Bradford Council investment in play areas - dubbed the Playable Spaces Strategy and Funding Programme.

The £650,000 new Lister Park play area would include a nine metre tall “giants tower” and playable musical instruments, among more traditional equipment like swings.

A planning application for the new play area was submitted earlier this year, and was yesterday approved by the Council’s planning officers.

And the original play area - which is over 20 years old, has been almost entirely cleared of the old equipment - with workers on the site this week.

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Lister Park is Grade II listed, and due to the size of the play tower planned for a protected space, the new play area needed to go through the planning system before the new equipment could be installed.

Plans to replace the play area were announced over a year ago, shortly before the Pandemic began.

The Council said that the facility is one of the busiest in Bradford, and hoped that re-vamping it would turn it into the “destination” play area for the District.

There had been calls to upgrade the play area for years - and at its busiest there would be queues to use the swings. One local Councillor, Sarfraz Nazir (Lab, Manningham) said some areas were in “a state of disrepair.”

The new play area design was described as “exciting, unique and innovative” in the planning application.

Central to the site is the nine metre tall ‘Cartwright Giants Tower’ and other features will include a sensory path, dome climber, water wheel, agility trail, swings, a “music zone” with playable instruments, carousel and picnic area.

Some of the play equipment will be inspired by the art in Cartwright Hall art gallery - also in Lister Park.

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Referring to the application, Conservation Officer Jon Ackroyd said: “The park has a distinctive character and is a good example of Victorian municipal park design. It complements the setting of the Grade II listed Cartwright Hall gallery.

“The replacement equipment will sit within the same steel fenced enclosure and not occupy any greater area. New equipment will be provided, causing some contrast with the existing.

“One primary component will also be taller than the existing maximum height of play equipment. However, this will remain well below the height of the trees, and the visual impact will partly be diluted by the presence of the trees.

“The equipment will not be strident or intrusive in the wider landscape of the park.”

Approving the plans yesterday, planning officers said: “The playground has been in situ for over 20 years and whilst not a historic component and contrasting with the simple open landscape of the wider park, it is not a discordant feature.

“The replacement play tower will remain well below the height of the mature trees, therefore the visual impact will be partly diluted. The proposal will not result in any loss of significance or harm to the designated heritage asset.”