2006

Resident survey identified need for a safe play area that offered variety and challenge

2007

Lottery funding granted to create playground in Meriden Park, Chelmsley Wood and to employ three-part time playworkers to provide support and safety.

2010

In the three years from 2007, the playground becomes a cherished community asset. The playground includes self-built climbing and swinging timber structures, a zip wire, a fire pit and a sandpit. Lottery funding expires, but Solihull MBC steps in and provides funding for staff and site maintenance.

2012

Recognising the challenges of “austerity” on council funding, local volunteers form MAPA. MAPA raises funds and takes on more responsibility for managing the site: – Employs two Play-workers – Develops CommunityCafé. – Assists parents in financial difficulties by providing food bank vouchers, clothing and bedding.  – MAPA slowly becomes a community hub.

2017

Number of children attending annually increases into the thousands with over 1000 children registered to attend without parents’ supervision. This provides much needed support to parents as well as children MAPA gains charitable status to better secure the future of the playground. SMBC announce they will stop funding salaries in September 2017. MAPA increases their fundraising efforts and start working with SMBC  to secure the future of this much loved and much-needed community asset.

2018

• Negotiated a licence to use the site with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council as a precursor to negotiating a six year lease from 2019.
• Funding from the Youth Investment Fund, the Tudor Trust and Children in Need have now enabled salaries for a full staff team until March 2021.
• MAPA takes over youth night previously run on site by Early Help (SMBC) and opens on a second night as well with plans for other development work in the area.
• With funding from Family Action, we ran family cooking sessions through the summer, producing some great MAPA recipes.

2019

Ongoing negotiations with the Council for a six year lease. A substantial award from HS2 to enable us to install two large converted shipping containers to grant us indoor space for an office, meeting/training room and gathering/activity spaces for children and young people, is on hold until the lease is agreed.

Funding from the Clothworker’s Foundation, Pockets Parks and Awards for all enabled us to do repairs and development work on site resulting in a new treehouse, the famous third tier ‘Nutter’s Platform’, a wheelchair ramp and ‘death slide’, a shelter and the reboarding of several platforms, plus the installation of a central lighting column and CCTV (thanks to Ben Purewal of E-Consulting Ltd.!)

Celebrated our first National Playday – hopefully the first of many – which was attended by 1200 people and was a huge success, and also our first Fright Night at Hallowe’en – a truly scary and hilarious event.

2020

Helped by the Colebridge Trust, MAPA Trustees embarked on a program of strategic work, developing a budget plan and fund-raising strategy, and clarifying our aims and objectives for the next three years.