Ustigate were delighted to be awarded the contract to design and build a Splashpad at Haverhill Recreation Ground in April 2021 and gave promise to establish Haverhill Splashpad in 2021. The new facility was opened by Mayor of Haverhill Cllr Liz Smith, Cllr Tony Brown, Cllr Colin Poole, Cllr John Griffiths and the Haverhill Splashpad working party in September 2021. Haverhill’s community celebrated with refreshments, music, circus skills and fun.

Haverhill Splashpad is next to the playground at Haverhill Recreation Ground, within sight of the kiosk, public toilets, and CCTV cameras. Whilst West Suffolk Council and Haverhill Town Council collaborated on the funding and the build and Haverhill Splashpad and the kiosk is now operated and maintained by Haverhill Town Council.

Haverhill Splashpad is 360m² of fun with twenty aquatic play items including three foot activators and one inclusive activation bollard. Many play items in the design were highlighted as favourites during public consultation and carried into procurement to ensure Haverhill got exactly what they wished for in their facility. There are five above ground products and eleven ground sprays, each with varying heights and character in terms of their interactivity, water shape and direction. The tallest play item is Flower No.7 standing just under 4 metres tall with its tulip shaped tipping bucket; complimentary to the park setting and well liked with its promise of a surprise soaking! Behind Flower No. 7, children can enjoy a low level Split Stream; a ground spray with two arching water jets where one rears off to the left and the other to the right. A short distance from the tipping bucket fun, children will enjoy taking Cattail Twirl on a spin. Our Twirltec™ technology provides children with the ability to rotate Cattail Twirl a full 360° resulting in a wonderful spiralling effect from Cattail’s water jets. Whilst Cattail’s water is being influenced above, three nearby Fountain Spray No.2’s deliver a merry dance from the ground up. There are three more above ground products, the first is Helio No.2, a low level orb from our award winning Explora collection. Children delight in the hands on and close up experience Helio No. 2 provides with spinning and splashing being the key activities involved. The second is Spiroo, a product inspired by traditional and popular playground skipping games. Spiroo provides a dynamic water play experience and engages team play by inviting children to jump over its three incoming water streams. Our above ground finale sits with a Spray Loop; known to be an aquatic play favourite amongst Haverhill’s community at public consultation, Spray Loop provides an all-round-spray experience when children pass through. Haverhill’s aquatic play scheme also includes two Fountain Spray No.1’s, one Geyser, a Water Bloom No.1 and No.2, one Spidey Spray No.2 and a Sparkle No.1. Children are engaged to move from one element to another to maximise their fun and exercise because of the unique and differing experiences offered between the products. There is a popular water play item for every age and ability at Haverhill Splashpad; encompassed by colourful EPDM surfacing with soft circular shapes. The water management system is a flow through system where features are fed from the mains water supply. Ustigate Waterplay installed a grey water tank for Haverhill Town Council to capture the water after play for irrigation.

This project formed part of Haverhill Town Council and West Suffolk Council’s aim to listen to local resident needs and provide facilities for families to keep fit and healthy.

As reported by Suffolk News:

Haverhill Mayor, Cllr Liz Smith, said: “This is a great example of Haverhill Town Council and West Suffolk Council responding to local residents wishes – councillors heard loud and clear that this was a facility people wanted to have and were firmly in the driving seat in delivering it.”

Cllr Tony Brown said: “The splashpad is something people have been asking for – it is great to have a new facility for young kids to play, particularly after the difficult and challenging year, when they have not been able to just play with their friends.”

Cllr Colin Poole said: “It is fabulous to hear that the splashpad is being very well used already. I am sure that people who are concerned about excess water usage will be reassured to hear there is also a clever automatic system that stops and starts the splashpad periodically to prevent too much water being used. If it stops responding, it means the children will need to wait just a little while whilst it refills ready for more fun.”

Cllr John Griffiths said: “I am so pleased that the plans to build a splashpad on the Recreation Ground have come to fruition. Families have already been enjoying these new facilities which are part of our investment in Haverhill and the health and wellbeing of our communities. I am sure this new facility is also particularly welcome for young families after months of restrictions due to the pandemic and I would like to thank Haverhill Town Council for leading on this exciting project. It just shows what can be achieved by working together in partnership for the benefit of the communities we serve.”