The Mayor of Bromley has officially opened the new dinosaur-themed playground in Crystal Palace Park, which roars into action for local families to enjoy, while works continue to regenerate the park.
The playground was opened by the Mayor alongside children from local schools, who were able to eagerly test out the new playground equipment, including a dinosaur skeleton climbing frame, giant dinosaur egg play features, basket swings and a footprint-shaped sandpit to encourage fossil hunting adventures.
New accessible features were also introduced for the playground, including wheelchair accessible roundabout and picnic benches, an accessible slide and swing, and adjustable height games throughout the playground, with a Changing Places toilet also nearby in the park.
While the current multi-million-pound phase of regeneration works in the park will be completed this summer, much of the fencing in the area of the park around the playground has now also been removed with works in these areas now complete. This includes access around The Tidal Lakes, which is being opened up earlier than expected, allowing residents to see some of the finishing restoration works that continue on the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.
The extensive park-wide regeneration plan is being co-delivered by Bromley Council and Crystal Palace Park Trust, with the support of partners, including a £5m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The new playground was also delivered thanks to a £140,000 grant from the London Marathon Foundation. Further donations to support the wider regeneration plan have come from the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, and the Pilgrim Trust.
Landscape Architects HTA Design developed the design of the playground, with much welcome input from local residents and groups. The works were carried out by partner contractors Maylim, who are also delivering the wider phase of the works, and their sub-contractors including PlayEquip.
The Mayor of Bromley, Councillor Jonathan Andrews said: “It was wonderful to see young adventurers already exploring this incredible new playground. Just as the park itself, which I have fond personal memories of visiting as a child, is a blend of heritage and leisure spaces, this playground encourages learning at the same time as being a welcoming and accessible place for fun. The playground forms part of our extensive regeneration plan being delivered to secure the future of Crystal Palace Park, for residents and visitors to enjoy for generations to come.”
Victoria Pinnington, Chief Executive of Crystal Palace Park Trust, said: “We are thrilled to have opened the gates to the Dinosaur Playground this spring, ahead of the regeneration works completing in the summer. The world-famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs have been inspiring and delighting visitors to this park for over 170 years and undoubtedly this unique playground will inspire a whole new generation of young visitors (and their adults!)”
Stuart McLeod, Director of England - London and South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we are absolutely delighted to see the Dinosaur Playground roaring to life. This vibrant new space captures the imagination, celebrates the park’s extraordinary heritage and opens up even more opportunities for families to explore, learn and play together. It’s fantastic to witness such an exciting milestone in the wider regeneration of Crystal Palace Park - a project that’s creating lasting benefits for the community and ensuring this remarkable historic landscape continues to inspire visitors of all ages for many years to come.”
The new playground will be open to park visitors from Friday 20 March and to celebrate the opening, on Saturday 21 March families can enjoy a fun-filled day of free, drop-in activities.
Further regeneration works taking place around the park include to the Italian Terraces, the stone structure which lead to where the Crystal Palace once stood. The bust of Sir Joseph Paxton, the Victorian designer of the Crystal Palace and the park, is also being restored and relocated to the Italian Terraces, to sit proudly in the centre of this incredible green space.
The Grand Centre Walk, the central route through the park, is returning to its original 96 foot width during this phase of the regeneration plan, which will lead from an upgraded Penge Gate entrance past a new Visitor Centre, and through to the park’s historic sites and beautiful green spaces. Further improvements such as new planting and surfacing are already being delivered, which residents may already have noticed when visiting the park.
The park remains open to all visitors during the works, with necessary information for visitors, including footpath redirection, being provided by Crystal Palace Park Trust, who became custodians of the park in 2023.
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For media enquiries, please contact James George, Senior Public Affairs Officer, on 020 8313 4565 or email james.george@bromley.gov.uk.
Editors’ notes
This project has been made possible by major grants from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, as well as major donations from the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, London Marathon Foundation, and the Pilgrim Trust.
About Crystal Palace Park Trust
Crystal Palace Park Trust is the custodian of the 200-acre, Grade II* listed historic landscape and its many unique buildings and attractions, in south London. The Trust’s vision is for Crystal Palace Park to be an outstanding park for London. Our mission is to protect, manage and improve Crystal Palace Park as a green, open, historic, ecological, recreational, sporting, cultural and educational resource in the interests of the community and other park users.
Follow @crystalpalaceparktrust on LinkedIn, and Instagram, Facebook.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund.