Introduction
What makes a playing place?
Inspiring/Informative playing places
Kippen Skate Park
Gorgie/Dalry Community Park
Mugdock Country Park
The Yard
Giffnock Primary School
Garnethill Community Park
Balornock East Youth Centre
The Spire Park
Conclusion
References & Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
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Where is it? What's it like? What's the story?
Balornock East Youth Centre

Balornock East Youth Centre is a small outdoor space designed for multi use but with a specific focus on providing for the requirements of an out of school care club for children with special needs.

Where is it?
Wallacewell Road in Balornock Glasgow
What's it like?
It's a small purpose built youth centre, which has some land around it. The land has recently been developed into a small useable outdoor space.
What's the story?

The youth centre at Balornock is used every day for an after school care facility for children and families with special needs. The club runs every school day, and there are Saturday sessions for siblings, and a morning drop in session for parents. The children only played indoors until very recently because the outdoor area was covered in weeds and woody-stemmed shrubs with an unused parking and turning area.

A plan for an outdoor space was developed in close consultation with the staff and children at the centre. The design of the outdoor place has had to take into account the other present users of the centre. The centre is used by youth clubs and sometimes for community functions.

The underlying theme of the space is to provide sensory experience, but to keep the space as flexible as possible so it can be used for different activities according to the group using it. Quite a large area of hard surface is provided so it can be used for games, for vehicles delivering play experiences (such as mobile play units/bouncy castle delivery and erection), or for summer barbeques. The project was initiated, and part funded, by a local training agency. The trainees cleared the area and constructed the simple design to provide a hard surface for ball games, a big bench to sit on or lie on or use as a den, a semi enclosed garden area with a path through it, special raised trays for planting and sand play, and a green wood xylophone to play.

Since the space was constructed it has been used almost daily although the garden hasn't quite grown yet and the grass isn't ready for pic-nics. The 'flexible hard space' designed as a run around space/ball games area has been well used, but balls often go over the fence into neighbours gardens. This needs to be reconsidered should the fence be higher, or the activities in that space be adapted? Maintenance of the garden will be partly the responsibility of the children and staff, but it is hoped that an arrangement can be made with a local group to cut the grass, and prune shrubs. It would be good to foster some sense of ownership of the space amongst the children who come to the centre, and any group who might get involved in maintenance. These are the kind of issues that need to be dealt with to keep a playing place efficient, dynamic, safe, and fun.

Balornock East Youth Centre was a victim of the Glasgow floods July 2002, all documentation of the project including photos was lost. The garden is now recovering.