The Level Playground Gets a £300,000 Rebuild: Here's What's Coming
The published design board for the new adventure playground at The Level
One of Brighton's best loved play areas is about to be completely rebuilt. The Level's playground is being replaced with a brand new £300,000 adventure playground, designed for children of all ages and abilities, with work starting the week beginning 7 September.
The rebuild at a glance
The current equipment, installed back in 2012 as part of the park's restoration, has reached the end of its life. In its place comes a completely new and inclusive adventure playground, funded through section 106 developer contributions and shaped by a public consultation held last May, when residents shared their priorities and views on the proposals.
The project is being delivered by Proludic Ltd, appointed after a competitive tender, working alongside the council's Cityparks team to design and build the new space.
Councillor Alan Robins, Cabinet Member for Sports, Recreation and Libraries, said the upgrade was overdue for one of the city's most popular parks.
The Level play area is one of the best loved and most popular in the city, but its constant use means it's time for an upgrade. We are thrilled to unveil this exciting new design for a safe, accessible and welcoming play area which will meet the needs of children and families for many years to come. Councillor Alan Robins, Cabinet Member for Sports, Recreation and Libraries
What's being built
The new playground splits into zones for different ages. Younger children get a dedicated toddler space with climbing, sliding, spinning and rocking items, a playhouse and sensory features. Older children get a more challenging area built around a large tower unit with climbing features, a long tube-slide, a Ninja Warrior ramp and horizontal bars.
The published design board sets out the full picture: an accessible multiplay unit, climbing nets, giant monkey bars, a giant metal tube slide, a Ninja Warrior ramp, role play, spinning and rocking equipment, a sensory play zone, a swings zone and a games zone, all threaded together with winding paths through planted areas.
Built for everyone
Accessibility runs right through the design. The new playground includes a flush roundabout, a multi-play unit with wide steps, a wheelchair-transferable pod swing and bucket seat, and multiple sensory play panels. Clearer sightlines and more room for games and for families to play together have been built in following feedback from parents and carers. It continues The Level's tradition as a PiPa-accredited inclusive and accessible playground, sitting alongside the park's existing sensory garden.
Tougher, safer, built for the coast
The new equipment moves away from wood, using galvanised steel and high-pressure laminate panels instead. Steel stands up better to a coastal location and needs less ongoing maintenance, while the laminate panels are tougher, easier to clean and less prone to overheating in the sun. New wetpour safety surfacing will be laid throughout, making the whole area easier to move around.
The sandplay areas are being removed, as they cause health, safety and maintenance problems. Where possible, old equipment and features such as fencing will be recycled and reused, and some of the plants from the play area will be relocated to other parts of The Level or to other parks across the city.
What stays open during the works
The work is expected to take around 10 weeks, subject to the weather, with an official re-opening celebration planned towards the end of the year. During the build the fenced play area will be closed and no access will be allowed inside it, so parents and carers should keep children out of the fenced zone and take extra care around the park's perimeter pedestrian and cycle paths.
The rest of The Level stays open throughout. Visitors can still use the café kiosk, the international-standard skatepark and the grassed and recreational areas, reaching them via the park's other paved entrances. Here's exactly where to find it:
Where else to take the kids
If you need a playground while the fenced area is closed, the council has pointed to three nearby alternatives. Tap any of them for the exact location or directions:
One thing to note if you are planning a visit: The Level's popular water feature is currently closed following a pump failure, with the team carrying out repairs. You can check for updates via Freedom Leisure, which runs the paddling pools on the council's behalf.
An artist's impression of how the new play area at The Level will look
More than a playground
The playground is only one part of a park with real history. The Level sits at the heart of the Valley Gardens Conservation Area and is the principal open space there, long used as a popular events venue. Cricket was played on the site from the mid-18th century until 1822, when The Level was formally laid out by the architect A H Wilds and the botanist and landscape gardener Henry Philips. The elm avenues that frame the outer pathway were planted in 1844.
Over the centuries The Level has hosted bonfires, circuses, coronation feasts, Easter celebrations, fairs, music festivals, peace camps and public speeches and protests. In the 1920s, Captain Bertie Hubbard MacLaren, the city's Superintendent of Parks, redesigned the southern end as a playground and boating pond ringed with columns and pergolas. One of the park's two restored pavilions, on the Ditchling Road side, is named the MacLaren in his honour.
Elms, butterflies and a national collection
The Level is also home to a large and nationally important collection of elm trees, part of Brighton & Hove's National Elm Collection, which was granted full National Collection status in 1998. The elms framing the park support a colony of the endangered White-letter Hairstreak butterfly, a species that lives mainly in the treetops and depends entirely on elms for food. The park runs to high environmental standards with a bee bed and a butterfly garden planted specifically to encourage pollinators.
Art at The Level
At the southern entrance stands an eye-catching polished steel archway, with images of the park's history and wildlife picked out through perforations in the metal, textured so that visually impaired visitors can appreciate it too. There is more community-inspired artwork on the north lawns and on the chessboard tabletops around the boccia and pétanque area. You can see the story behind the archway in the video below.
Have your say and find out more
The park has an active community group, the Level Communities Forum, which is always looking for people who want to get involved. You can reach them at thelevelcommunitiesforum@gmail.com or through the Forum's website.
Reference links: The history of The Level · The National Elm Collection · Skateparks in Brighton & Hove