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BEST NEWS FOR CHILDREN 2015
Dinosaur Island July saw the opening of an award-winning children’s play area at Southwater Country Park
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dults can’t help but feel a bit jealous when taking children along to the Dinosaur Island adventure play area in Southwater Country Park. It’s simply so much better than the play parks we experienced as children. I recall that one of the most popular features in the old Horsham Park play area was a series of concrete pipes. Climbing through them, you could sometimes learn new words that the teenagers had scribbled whilst downing cheap cider on a cold, wet Friday night. Was there, once upon a time, a consultation during which children of that generation demanded a play park bearing all the hallmarks of a construction site? A play park themed around prehistoric monsters certainly seems a better idea... With special effects including an active volcano, red hot lava flows, a tar quagmire, a dinosaur swamp and a prehistoric jungle, the play area has attracted a huge number of visitors since it was opened in July. Improved parking at the Southwater Country Park site and a dinosaur themed makeover at the café have also added to the enjoyment of the experience.
Now, the Dinosaur Island has earned Horsham District Council’s Parks and Countryside team international recognition by winning the 2015 International Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice. The award was presented to Anna Chapman (Countryside Development Officer) and Cllr Jonathan Chowen (Cabinet Member of Leisure and Culture, and Parks) at a ceremony in the Palace of Westminster in November. The award recognises the sustainable nature of the recreation ground and the way it “helps
“It is an imaginative themed play space that commemorates a past age and it is sure to keep children entertained for many years”