New adventure park to open as part of up-and-coming seaside town’s £7.5million renovation

AN up-and-coming seaside town is set to get a huge new adventure park as part of a multi-million renovation.

The new playground will be part of the Newhaven Fort, which is currently closed.

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The park will be a "a celebration of Victorian innovation” which mirrors the fort's history.

There will be a large tubular slide attached to a Victorian "dirigible" - a blimp like structure.

A steam crane-inspired lookout tower, with a secret entrance for kids.

The sheltered play area is called Ardagh’s workshop, named after the Fort’s original architect, Lieutenant John Charles Ardagh.

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There will also be accessible play features such as "sound play, sensory items, interactive speaking tubes and an accessible trampoline and roundabout".

CAP.CO has an impressive track record, having created outdoor play spaces at numerous heritage sites including Windsor Great Park, Blenheim Palace and the National Maritime Museum.

It has been created by adventure play specialists CAP.CO, who have also worked on projects and Blenheim Palace and Windsor Great Park.

designer and ‘Professor of Play’ Jono Burgess said they wanted the design to "reflect the history and character of the fort".

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They added: "Since the Fort was built in the Victorian era, we wanted to celebrate the ingenuity and inventive spirit of the 1800s.

"Our goal is to design and build an inclusive adventure playground which kids will want to return to again and again to challenge themselves, make new friends and have fun."

Newhaven Fort will reopen in February 2025, following a £7.5million restoration.

The fort was the largest defence network built in Sussex in the 19th century, built due to the threat of Napoleon the Third.

Along with the playground there will be new interactive exhibitions and a refurbished Battery Observation Post with views out to sea.

The seaside town has revealed plans to become a more popular staycation destination.

Near to Brighton and Eastbourne, Newhaven's only beach could reopen.

West Beach closed back in 2008 due to safety concerns but hopes to reopen soon.

There are also 15 huge murals across Newhaven as part of the June Look Again Supergraphics Festival.

Newhaven was even nearly home to the UK's largest waterpark but these plans were scrapped.

Corinne Day, programme director at Newhaven Enterprise Zone (NEZ), said: "Having an updated town centre is just one of the factors that will build on its success as we look to transform Newhaven into a major contributor to the Sussex economy by 2030."

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