Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground renewal secures planning permission
One of the world’s most popular playgrounds has secured planning permission, paving the way for a £3 million renewal by The Royal Parks charity.
The charity, which manages London’s eight Royal Parks will begin work to renew the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in autumn 2025 and the playground will reopen in spring 2026.
The playground in Kensington Gardens, was built in 2000 to commemorate the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who resided at the nearby Kensington Palace.
Inspired by the adventures of Peter Pan, the playground welcomes over one million visits a year. But after decades of adventures and play, some of the equipment in the playground has reached the end of its life and now needs a full replacement.
The renewal focuses on inclusive play within the park’s natural setting so that children of all abilities can play together and engage with the natural environment.
A new Galleon (large sailing ship) will replace the existing ship. The ship’s replacement will include exciting new features such as an additional crow’s nest (elevated lookout on the mast of the ship) and a tunnel slide. The Galleon will also feature interactive play elements such as a ‘Captain’s Wheel’, and musical and sensory features.
A new Treehouse Encampment inspired by the idea of woodland hideaways will feature three towers at different heights, providing climbing opportunities for different ages and abilities. It will also feature a tunnel slide and a see-saw bridge. The Treehouse Encampment will include social and interactive features such as musical equipment and talk tubes where children can talk to friends at different levels.
A redesigned and improved Mermaid Fountain will allow children to cool off in the summer with lots of opportunities for young water engineers to control water play with interactive dams and gates.
Improved accessibility has been a key objective in this design process. The Royal Parks charity appointed Accessible UK to conduct an accessibility audit of the playground to inform design proposals. The Galleon and the Treehouse Encampment will both have wheelchair accessible spaces. Some paths in the playground will be widened and resurfaced, and a new accessible path will be created so that wheelchair users can move around more easily.
Sustainability has also been at the forefront of the design. Both the Galleon and the Treehouse Encampment will be constructed from timber from sustainably managed forests. And the new designs for the Mermaid Fountain will allow runoff water to be collected and used for irrigation.
Andy Williams, Park Manager for Kensington Gardens, said:
“Now that we have secured planning permission, we are one step closer to this exciting and much-needed renewal.
“This free-to-access playground has a special place in millions of children’s hearts across the globe, and it’s about to get even better. Working with play specialist providers, our own landscape teams, and the local community we have developed proposals that will continue to make this playground an experience like no other.
“The planned accessibility improvements will mean that the playground is open and welcoming to all children.”
The playground will be funded by The Royal Parks charity, and through a mixture of private and public donations.
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Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground renewal
The Royal Parks charity will undertake a £3 million renewal of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens.
