Diana Memorial Playground Engagement

Background:

The Royal Parks (TRP) commissioned Play:Disrupt to engage children around the redesign of The Galleon and Treehouse Encampment at the iconic Diana, Princess of Wales’ Memorial Playground in Summer 2024. Working alongside the TRP team and Timberplay (who had won the bid to redesign these elements), we were invited to design playful interventions to excite and understand young people and families connected to the park and those in neighbouring communities who had not visited, with a focus on accessibility and sustainability.

Development:

Designing activities that work well in a busy playground presented new and exciting challenges for us. Working with a minimal kit which could be sustainably transported to London on the train with facilitators and safely used in a space with hundreds of children at any one time meant maximising our imaginary play skills, bringing in facilitators experienced in play-work and role-play. Designing play experiences with fabrics, stickers, stories, paper maps and stamps allowed us to explore how children used the space and observe what works well as well as what needs to be improved. We leaned into the team’s background in theatre and play-work to concoct simple, striking activities that would help us and the design team to observe children at play, and draw families in for conversations about the future. It was wonderful for the client to give us such freedom to play and we relished the opportunity to experiment in such an exciting playground. Alongside the games, we set up a station with more traditional boards, sharing designs, allowing children and adults to comment, make suggestions and ask questions.

Delivery:

It was crucial that we engage day to day users as well as communities from the locality who were not yet familiar with the space. We worked closely with the TRP play team and were able to invite Solidarity Sports to a public play session, giving us vital feedback loops. We also held early morning sessions with Full of Life community organisation. Being able to work with children with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities in this focused, quiet time enabled those children and carers to feedback in a more equitable way and helped us to really understand their experiences. We went on to run sessions at Full of Life’s headquarters and after building relationships with ACAVA, held play sessions at their home to understand play needs and barriers that prevented engaging with the space.

Alongside this targeted work, we delivered large scale public engagement events at the playground utilising fabrics, chalks and music and storytelling to explore the space.

“It made a huge difference for Anna to have joined us in our ACAVA space with the families prior to the trip. Meeting families ‘on their own terms’ and in the places they know and are familiar with allowed families to feel seen and heard, and to develop trust ahead of the trip to the playground. It also provided a rich opportunity to explore our own play spaces, and how they might develop, centring the children and parents views and insights, as well as paving the way for hoped-for future sessions between Royal Parks, Play:Disrupt and ACAVA” Jack Young Curator (Young People, Children and Families, ACAVA)

‘What was great was the true commitment the parks staff and landscape architects have to the playground truly being inclusive….a ray of light!!’

Sue Redmond, Full of Life Director

The work was to be delivered over a longer time period, which enabled us to work iteratively and build relationships with families at the park, with the teams and in the wider localities. Having supported TRP to successfully get planning permission for the changes with an access statement, we returned in 2025 for further engagement in many other areas including waterplay, under trees, sensory spaces, route ways and resources that parents might need for improved and accessible play experiences.

The sessions supported the client in decision making on future play needs and possibilities in the Diana Memorial Playground and wider Kensington Gardens, as well as informing and reassuring the public that the upcoming renovations will be accessible, inclusive and designed with diverse visitor needs at its heart. We also supported the Royal Parks Team to maintain relationships with these groups and the local community while the park is closed during autumn/winter 2025.

Takeaways

This was a joy of a project, really allowing us to flex our play muscles while ensuring the client could feel that they had really connected with their public. We enjoyed experiencing how children use their different senses, the importance of being able to hide from parents, play independently, play together, run, jump, swing and chase. We learned the importance of clean sand, good sightlines and that parents have a wide variety of attitudes and experiences towards play and what their children need.

‘It was a marvellous success and so much appreciated by the children and indeed by us. Thanks for the detailed report which will help us in the last stages of detailed design’

Rhona Hartley, TRP Project Lead and Designer

What’s next?

We developed a detailed Statement of Community Consultation which supported The Royal Parks to successfully gain planning permission for the changes to the Galleon and Treehouse from Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The playground will close from 3 November 2025 with the works completed by summer 2026.

You can see the new designs and read more here.

‘For me, this is a very useful document indicating the way people use the site now and also explaining the ways they could have a more beneficial experience.

Thank you, this insight is invaluable.’

Ryan Gill, Diana Princess of Wales Playground Manager