The Recreation Ground
Stowmarket Town Council owns Stowmarket Recreation Ground, a pleasant popular public park surrounded by trees close to the centre of town. "The Rec" as it is known features a skatepark and a play area. It is a well used area, popular with dog walkers and as a meeting place for young people. The Rec is also the venue for the annual community events StowFest and the long running Stowmarket Carnival.

Plans to improve play provision at Recreation Ground
A major overhaul of play provision at The Recreation Ground is planned to take place in 2010. This will include:

* The installation of a new concrete bowl style skatepark
* The removal of the old metal skate ramps and conversion of that site into a ballpark for basketball and football
* The installation of a teenage shelter
* The installation of a new play area, the other side of the path from the current play area
* The installation of a CCTV camera.

Funding is in place for the work and planning permission has been obtained. There are a few logistical things to sort out before work can start but the hope is that the work will be completed during 2010.

Other Play Areas
The Town Council owns five other play areas in Stowmarket:

* Chilton Fields
* Hill Rise
* Lindsey Way
* Melford Road
* St Edmunds Road

It is widely recognised that the play equipment on all of these sites requires upgrading. The Town Council recently conducted a survey of all young people in the town, with the kind help of the town's schools, to find out what kind of equipment they would like on the play areas. The results of this have enabled us to identify priority sites and the type of equipment that we should install.

It is anticipated that all the sites will be upgraded over a five year period between 2009 and 2014. Play equipment is extremely expensive so it is not possible to upgrade all sites immediately. However, the Council is actively exploring sources of funding to pay for new equipment.

If you have any queries regarding any of the recreational areas, please contact Daniel Harvey, Public Services Manager, on 01449 776394 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .