Two £25,000 council grants will fund an inclusive sensory park in Lindford and a new playground at Weyford primary in Bordon. £13,835 is left in the pot.

Children in Lindford and Bordon are getting two new playgrounds, with £50,000 of East Hampshire District Council money behind them.

The council has awarded £25,000 to Lindford Parish Council for the first phase of an inclusive sensory park. It has awarded another £25,000 to Weyford Nursery and Primary Academy in Bordon to rebuild its primary playground. Councillor Andy Tree, the council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for Whitehill & Bordon, signed the decision on 24 September.

Lindford is about nine miles north-east of Petersfield, on the edge of Whitehill & Bordon. Weyford is on Mill Chase Road in Bordon, about eight and a half miles from Petersfield.

What the money pays for

The two projects are worth £123,469.57 between them. The grants cover about 40% of that.

Whitehill & Bordon Community Grant Programme 2026 awards
ProjectTotal costGrant
Lindford Sensory Park, phase one (Lindford Parish Council)£59,998£25,000
Playground Relay (Weyford Nursery and Primary Academy)£63,471.57£25,000
Total£123,469.57£50,000

In Lindford, the sensory park replaces the existing playground at The Triangle. The decision notice says the grant goes towards:

  • accessible play equipment
  • sensory features for children of different ages and abilities

At Weyford, the project is called Playground Relay. The school’s primary playground gets:

  • inclusive play equipment
  • sensory features
  • new surfacing
  • a better outdoor learning space

Both awards are capital grants, so they pay for building and equipment rather than running costs.

Lindford has been trying for this for two years

The parish council has been open about how hard it found the money. In a playground questionnaire to families in autumn 2024, it said it had applied for two grants and been turned down both times. It also said it knew that “a large number of surrounding villages have received significant funding over the last few years to improve their playgrounds”.

That questionnaire asked families whether their children had sensory needs or a disability that kept them off standard equipment. The inclusive design now being funded follows from that.

In February the parish council went out to tender for the work. Its notice on Find a Tender put the job at an estimated £60,000 before VAT. It asked bidders to:

  • remove the old equipment
  • do the groundworks
  • lay wet pour surfacing or similar
  • supply and install the new equipment

Bids were marked first on how inclusive the design was and second on how environmentally friendly it was. Tenders closed on 24 March. The notice estimated the contract would run from 1 January to 1 April 2027, so the new playground is unlikely to open before spring.

Where the money comes from

The grants come out of the council’s Supporting Communities Fund, set up in 2022. In 2024 the council ring-fenced a third of the fund’s £1 million for projects in Whitehill & Bordon. After that year’s awards, £63,835.26 was left.

This round spends £50,000 of it. That leaves £13,835.26, which the council says will stay reserved for future projects in the area.

The programme covers four wards:

  • Whitehill Hogmoor & Greatham
  • Whitehill Chase
  • Whitehill Pinewood
  • Lindford

The notice says the two projects came out of conversations Cllr Tree held with community groups and local organisations. Officers then assessed and scored them against the grant criteria before he decided.

What it means for you

  • If you live in Lindford, the playground at The Triangle is being replaced. On the parish council’s own tender timetable, work is expected in the first three months of 2027. Lindford Parish Council runs the site and is the place to ask about the design.
  • If your child is at Weyford, the school has £25,000 towards a £63,471.57 playground project. The school has not yet published a timetable.
  • If you run a group in Whitehill & Bordon, £13,835.26 remains in the ring-fenced pot. The council’s community team is at community@easthants.gov.uk.
  • Elsewhere in the district, the council’s separate Community Climate Action Fund is open until 11.59am on Monday 5 October. Petersfield Town Council used it for three 500-litre water butts, and Liss Parish Council for solar panels at Liss Pavilion.

The decision can still be called in by councillors until 29 September. If it is not, it takes effect on 30 September. No call-ins had been lodged when we checked on 27 September.

The same week, the council’s Cabinet agreed to hand nine community buildings and spaces to Whitehill Town Council, including the Forest Community Centre and Jubilee Park. We covered the area’s other big open question in the Bordon Health Hub deadline.

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