New swings, slides and sensory panels are open now. National Lottery money paid £64,727 of the £100,000 rebuild of Swanley's Cherry Avenue play area.

The renovated play area in Cherry Avenue, Swanley, reopened on Thursday 10 September after a £100,000 rebuild. (Sevenoaks District Council, Playground re-opened in Swanley!, 14 September 2026)

The National Lottery Community Fund paid for most of it. Sevenoaks District Council and Swanley Town Council covered the rest.

The new playground is aimed at children under 12 and has over 70 features. The council says most of them were chosen following consultation with the local community.

The equipment includes:

  • swings, slides and hopscotch
  • balance ropes
  • sensory panels
  • accessible pathways
  • new fences and gates

The work was delivered by playground manufacturer KOMPAN.

Who paid for it

The council’s announcement breaks the £100,000 down three ways: £64,727 from The National Lottery Community Fund, £27,773 from Sevenoaks District Council and £7,500 from Swanley Town Council. (Sevenoaks District Council, Playground re-opened in Swanley!)

Who paid for the £100,000 Cherry Avenue playground: The National Lottery Community Fund £64,727, Sevenoaks District Council £27,773, Swanley Town Council £7,500
Chart by Sevenoaks Online

Cllr Irene Roy, the district council’s Cabinet Member for Cleaner and Greener, said the old equipment had reached the end of its life. “Thanks to the generous grant from the National Lottery, we were able to remove the previously well-used units that had come to the end of their working life and replace them with brand new, accessible play equipment,” she said. “As local residents helped us shape the new playground, we expect it to be very popular and well used.”

Swanley Town Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Hayman, thanked the district council’s team for getting the project “over the line”. “KOMPAN has done a fantastic job delivering their playground upgrade in Swanley, turning each one around with great care and efficiency,” he said. (Sevenoaks District Council, Playground re-opened in Swanley!)

What it means for families

The playground is open now, in time for the after-school weeks before the clocks change. The accessible pathways and sensory panels mean the site is built for a wider range of children than the old equipment served.

Cherry Avenue is on the west side of Swanley, off St Mary’s Road. Our guide to parks and playgrounds around Sevenoaks district covers where else to take under-12s, and what is trading nearby is on our Swanley business directory.

Sources

  • Sevenoaks District Council, Playground re-opened in Swanley!, published 14 September 2026 (the 10 September reopening, the £100,000 cost and the three-way funding split, the over 70 features, the under-12s age range, the community consultation, KOMPAN as contractor, and the quotes from Cllr Irene Roy and Ryan Hayman)

Image: Elim Christian Centre, Cherry Avenue, Swanley, by David Anstiss, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elim_Christian_Centre_-geograph.org.uk-_1187857.jpg. The photo shows the road in 2009, not the new playground. Chart by Sevenoaks Online.