By Cllr Jason Brock
I had the pleasure of visiting the new Ranger Station activity centre at Prospect Park last week.
It’s a visit I particularly enjoyed, especially because it’s in Southcote ward.
This brand-new Council facility offers a quirky mini golf course. I really love the miniature Reading landmarks dotted around, which include representations of our Abbey Ruins and the Reading Festival.
Anyway, suffice to say it transpires that I’m comically useless at mini golf – but that’s part of the fun, especially with friends and family.
I can see the course quickly becoming a cult pastime for local residents, with course records broken on a daily basis. If you haven’t already, do give it a go.
Importantly, we’ve made sure it is accessible for all and provide specialist accessible putting equipment for disabled visitors. I’m delighted that we also now offer a fully wheelchair-accessible toilet/Changing Places on site.
Alongside the mini golf course, the Ranger Station also offers a low ropes activity for kids under seven. My age and height excluded me from a turn on the low ropes course, but it looks like great fun for younger kids and a good opportunity for weary parents to keep the young ones busy while they take a well-earned rest.
At £4.50 per person (or £20 for a family/group of five) and £4.50 per child for the low ropes it is, compared to many other leisure activities, a relatively affordable attraction for families, as well as an active one.
All the proceeds go back into our amazing Reading Play Service to expand the important educational work they do with vulnerable children across the borough.
I’m really looking forward to phase two of this development when our new café and other great facilities open. The new activity centre is also just one aspect of the enhancement and investment we are making into Prospect Park.
We have prioritised the playground for improvements, with a solid focus on providing free accessible equipment for children of all abilities. This work will begin in the autumn.
When complete, with both the Ranger Station and new play area, Prospect Park will be an even greater destination for a day out.
Alongside our £40 million investment in new leisure centres, sports facilities and swimming pools, the Council has invested over £500,000 in this new centre (plus another £530,000 in the new play area) to offer activities, entertainment and learning for adults and children from across Reading and beyond.
As I’ve already alluded to, the Ranger Station goes beyond this public activity to offer us a significant and valuable extension to our provision for children in a fun, safe and welcoming environment – this is especially true for those with special educational needs or disabilities or those who experience other challenges.
Our Reading Play Team offer a vital service supporting children with respite activities and use play as a tool to improve the social skills and wellbeing of particularly vulnerable young people.
They carry out this important work in schools and educational settings across the borough and now, with the opening of the Ranger Station, they have a new home to carry on their good work.
We are currently working on an outdoor education area at this site including a climbing wall and team-building activities, such as den building, archery, an outdoor classroom and much more, which will support Reading Play’s educational outreach work with our town’s young people.
Just try to remember not to swear too loudly when you miss yet another simple putt on the mini golf course… there might be children listening.
Cllr Jason Brock is the leader of Reading Borough Council, and Labour ward member for Southcote
