Parks and Open Spaces



The Town Council owns around 150 acres of parks and open spaces, including the principal parks of Swanley Park and St Mary's Recreation Ground.

SWANLEY PARK - New Barn Road, Swanley, Kent BR8 7PW

Swanley Park is a beautifully undulating 60 acre park located between Swanley and Hextable which provides the biggest 'green lung' of the parish and is one of the most popular and well used parks in the region.  The facilities have been developed over the last 20 years and the park is the envy of many other local authorities.  It attracts visitors from a wide area and is maintained to the highest standard by the excellent parks department.



Five separate parcels of land were originally acquired.  These areas had earlier been used for a variety of purposes - one was part of a disused horticultural college, another area was an orchard and there were some old redundant buildings of a defunct farm.  The large boating lake that is so well established is man-made, which comes as a surprise to many people who believe it is a natural feature of the park.

Swanley New Barn Railway is a very popular attraction in the park, built and managed with the help of a very willing band of local volunteers.  it consists of 800m of track forming a loop around the park and passengers can board at 'Lakeside' or 'New Barn Halt' stations and enjoy a scenic train journey. The trains are equipped to carry pushchairs and buggies.  The railway is open for passenger carriage from Easter to September. You can visit their website at www.snbr.co.uk

More recent additions to the park are the paddling pool and sand play and family enclosure where young children can play in safety.  Older children can use up their energy nearby at the large, well equipped play area including swings, climbing frame and a zip wire.

To celebrate the Millennium a wildflower meadow was planted by local residents together with the Town Council. The Volunteers then formed the Swanley Environment Group and have greatly developed this area with tree and other planting to encourage wildlife into the area.  For the Queen's Golden jubilee a new avenue of trees was planted in the park and many of the trees were donated by local people.  Each spring the area is brightened by swathes of daffodils planted by local school children.

Converted from an existing cow shed using unemployed youngsters, the cafe is open during the summer months providing reasonably priced hot and cold refreshments including drinks, snacks and ice creams.

Events are often held in the park and include fun days, musical events, cross country running and model yachting competitions.  Watch the local press for details of these events. Visit their website on www.swanleypark.co.uk

PETHAM PARK 

The smaller community Park features adventure play equipment and five-a-side football posts for informal matches.  Shrubs, planting and attractive cast iron furniture complete the area which is fenced in on all sides.

The Town Council also provides a number of smaller areas including Westview and Beechenlea Lane.  In addition there are allotments adjacent to Swanley Park which may be rented for a very reasonable sum and at Petham which are managed by a local society.

The Town Council works in partnership with the Highways Department of Sevenoaks District Council and is responsible for all of the grounds maintenance and grass cutting in the majority of open spaces and highway verges.  The Town Council promotes environmental awareness and brightens up the Parish with over 400 hanging baskets and many other floral displays during the spring and summer.

ST MARY'S RECREATION GROUND

This nine acre site includes football pitches, six floodlit, all-weather tennis/netball courts, a large well equipped play area and one of the biggest and best roller blading and BMX areas within the region.





In addition to football the grass sports area is used by local schools for summer and winter sports and is host to a large number of community events and activities.

 

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