Southmead playground project to appear on DIY SOS this week
Posted on: 23 May 2022Presenter Nick Knowles and the team took a trip to Southmead Adventure Playground (The Ranch) last year to see how they could transform the place.
Southmead is set to appear on hit BBC show DIY SOS this week, as the team help to rebuild an adventure playground that was damaged during lockdown.
Volunteers and tradespeople from all over Bristol and beyond mucked in to give the BBC team a hand in improving the city’s oldest adventure playground in an amazing example of community spirit.
Tune in to BBC One at 20:00 tomorrow (Tuesday 24 May) to watch ‘DIY SOS The Big Build – Southmead’ or catch up on BBC iPlayer.
Next week @MrNickKnowles and the DIY SOS team are in Southmead in Bristol, helping to re-build an adventure playground, that was badly damaged by vandals during lockdown @BBCOne Tuesday 24 May 8pm pic.twitter.com/P10qkdH93N
— DIY SOS (@DIYSOS) May 17, 2022
The Ranch has proved a notoriously difficult space over the years. Built as part of a network of five Bristol adventure playgrounds, it's been burnt down and rebuilt twice, and been operated under the valiant stewardship of several different charities.
It has also fallen foul of Council cuts to funding and, in 2018 when The Ranch was in danger of closing, Southmead Development Trust (with very little funding of their own) took over the lease and ran a skeleton service.
However, the pandemic took hold before the Trust could raise sufficient funds, throwing The Ranch’s future into jeopardy yet again. Desperate, one of the volunteers reached out to the DIY SOS team and, before they knew it, it was ‘lights, camera, action’.
At lightning speed, the team found donations of labour (one volunteer, Billy, is pictured below) and materials with the Trust filling in the gaps. Since the rebuild, the adventure playground has been busier than ever with children and families pouring back since last November.
Speaking about the transformative nature of the help they received last October, Amy Kinnear (Southmead Development’s Trust CEO) has said:
“The DIY SOS renovation is a boost for all of our Adventure Playgrounds in the City as the story is the same for each: the playgrounds are a vital part of our communities and integral to children as they play, learn and grow. They must be kept safe, up to date and properly staffed.
“The project has given us a real lift and we can’t wait to see the show go out. However, the morning after its broadcast we will be back to earth with a bump to continue the incredibly hard and expensive work of running a large site like The Ranch.
“We want to increase opening hours and keep our lovely site in good condition for generations to come - we can’t take our eye off raising funds for a second. If you can help in any way please do consider supporting us or your local Bristol adventure playground.”
‘DIY SOS The Big Build – Southmead’ will be broadcast on BBC One at 20:00 on Tuesday 24 May before going onto BBC iPlayer.
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Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.
