An amazing beauty spot with a huge amount of history behind it, treat yourself to a day out in this fantastic, Green Flag award-winning open space, which has been voted one of the top 10 parks in the UK for a number of years.
Cassiobury Park is located about five minutes away from the town centre, and with the new award-winning Cassiobury Park Hub, state of the art paddling pools with exciting splash pool and water features, a booming bandstand, Daisy’s in the park café and Cafe Cha open all year and a packed programme of activities all year round, it’s a great day out for the whole family.
Our restoration project in Cassiobury Park began in 2011, received £6.6m of funding (£5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund, and £1.6m from the council) and the state-of-the-art and energy efficient Cassiobury Park Hub is now home to additional changing rooms, toilets, fully inclusive Changing Places facilities, events and education space, and the popular café. The Changing Places facilities were a vital part of the works.
People with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well people with other physical disabilities such as spinal injuries, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis often need extra equipment and space to allow them to use the toilets and changing facilities safely and comfortably.
The park is Green Flag award-winning beauty spot, which has recently been voted one of the top 10 parks in the UK. Both the awards recognise the high standard of facilities in the park.
Why was it installed?
In a simple answer, standard accessible toilets and changing facilities do not meet the needs of all people with a disability.
Therefore, Watford Borough Council strive to ensure that our playgrounds and park can be enjoyed by every child – and we encourage parents of disabled children to get in touch to see if we can make any more improvements. Our play programme is also accessible for those with disabilities.
The Changing Places toilet in the hub ensure that there are facilities for everyone and the new signage installed promote understanding and inclusion.
Accessible Play
The move in the play industry in recent years has been to provide more equipment that can be enjoyed by children of all abilities – and disabilities – together, promoting inclusivity rather than segregation. Watford Borough Council plans to have many of its play areas assessed by Plan Inclusive Play (PiPA) so it can make changes if necessary to make them more disability-friendly.
You can find a £20,000 Changing Places toilet and changing facilities, with hoist and changing bench, in the Cassiobury Park Hub and paddling pools. Our new splash park with raised “push buttons” helps children in wheelchairs can control the water flow. Flat surfaces give children in wheelchairs the opportunity to enter the paddling pools with all of their friends.
The council has also committed to provide for new disabled-friendly facilities for the nearby playground at a cost of £100,000. These will include new ‘interactive and sensory’ play to help children with sensory difficulties and a roundabout designed for children in wheelchairs.
If you would like to discuss further improvements to the park’s play equipment, please email Watford Borough Council at communications@watford.gov.uk.
