From ‘pocket parks’ tucked into housing estates to ‘destination play areas’ like Cuttleslowe Park, Oxford has an unusually large number of playgrounds for a city of its size. Oxford City Council manages 92 of its own, as well as 11 owned by other bodies.

But by 2009 many had fallen into a poor state of repair and some were hardly being used. The council realised it was high time to start updating and improving them.

The Oxford Play Area Refurbishment Programme is now in its third and final year and, by April 2012, a total of 69 play areas will have been upgraded, the remainder not requiring refurbishment at present.

The Thames Valley branch of Groundwork, a national federation of environmental regeneration charities, won the contract to manage the project.

Initially it was working with a budget of £2.5m but operators have since successfully applied for several grants, including from the Government’s Pathfinder and Playbuilder schemes, and from Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN).

This has increased the budget to more than £3m, with the amount spent on each play area ranging from £20,000 to £150,000.

The programme is being run by Groundwork’s Jamie Murray, project manager, and landscape architect Rob Tilley, working closely with city councillor Mark Lygo, board member for sport, play and school liaison.

Council staff undertake some installations while the rest is done by play companies selected through competitive tendering.

Once playgrounds were all much of a muchness, with swings, a slide, a roundabout and so on. Not so now.

Mr Tilley explained: “The old style approach was known as ‘KFC’: kit, fencing, and carpet.But now we try to build upon the character and unique features of each site to create distinctive spaces.”

Quarry Hollow in Headington is one site that offers lots of natural opportunities for play. Its hills, hollows and wooded areas are great for hide-and-seek or BMX cycling.

New play equipment, including an embankment slide and a cantilevered swing, makes use of the landscape, too.

In other play areas, such as Alexandra Park in Summertown, earthworks have made an existing flat play area more interesting. Imaginative planting, and taking a new approach to maintenance can make a play area more exciting.

The Groundwork team follows good practice as outlined in Play England’s guidelines. A key aspect of this is consultation to find out what kind of play area each community wants.

During the Oxford refurbishment this has been most successful when there has been an existing ‘friends of’ group of park users.

Sometimes rethinking play can have a surprisingly big impact. For example, Greater Leys was originally built with lots of pocket parks, but these did not entertain children for long. Groundwork has replaced these with one larger playground offering a far more stimulating play environment and a meeting place for the whole community.

There is now an enormous range of playground equipment to choose from.

Swings and slides are eternally popular but other items have fallen from favour because they were dangerous, like the infamous conical ‘witch’s hat’ which swung unpredictably and could knock a child out, or roundabouts that were so close to the ground that hands and feet could become trapped beneath.

Climbing frames in many shapes and sizes feature in many of the new playgrounds. Both timber and new, high-tech materials such as Corocord rope nets are now widely used, in addition to traditional steel structures.

Inclusion is another key design principle. Ideally, an area should offer play opportunities for children of different ages.

In Florence Park a disused bowling green is being transformed into an adventure playground for older children, who were not well catered for before. One of the most inclusive items of play equipment is the round net swing, which can be enjoyed by kids of all ages, including those who have spinal problems.

‘Loose parts’ refers to play features that involve sand and water. On a recent research visit to Denmark, a country at the cutting edge of playground design, Mr Murray found these were extremely popular. Some Oxford play areas now contain sandpits, and water will also be incorporated in Bury Knowle Park.

Health and safety are important considerations when refurbishing a play area, and Groundwork sometimes seeks advice from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the local police. But feedback has confirmed parents want play areas to be places where children learn to assess risk and take on new challenges.

When playgrounds are refurbished they become exciting and attractive and far more children want to play in them.

Mr Lygo said: “In turn, this helps tackle many important issues such as childhood obesity, social inclusion and anti-social behaviour.”