New Century Park Enhancements: Splash Pad & Community Cafe FAQs

The Council is proud to be delivering this new exciting infrastructure as requested by the community.

Here are some key FAQ’s to help you understand the progress we have made and to address any concerns you may have: -

Splash Pad FAQs

The main splashpad area, the fencing, and the gates were completed in Autumn 2022. The artificial grass has been laid but requires further work to meet the standards required by the Council.

New signage, bins, pathways, and paving slabs at the entrance gates will be installed before opening.

The official opening of the splashpad will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023 during the King’s Coronation Event at New Century Park.

The anticipated opening hours of the splashpad will be: 10.00 am - 6.00 pm Monday to Sunday from May through to September.

Whilst the café is being built, temporary accessible Porta Loos will be provided on site. These will be secured to prevent antisocial behaviour and will be regularly cleaned and checked.

The splashpad will be run and managed by the Parish Council’s Operations Team who will clean and perform daily safety checks while the splashpad is open. Additional litter picks will also take place when appropriate.

As with other local splashpad sites (Hedge End), parking will be limited at the site. The Council will, through its marketing, encourage people to access to the site via greener forms of transport, such as walking and cycling.

Unfortunately, the Fair Oak Village Hall Management Committee have confirmed that their car park, will not be made available for general park users. As such, the Council will allow users to park on the hardstanding at New Century Park accessed via Brookfield Road.

This arrangement will be reviewed at the close of the first season, where all residents surrounding the park site will be invited to give their views to the Council on possible ways forward.

The splashpad will have a fresh water flow system and grey water harvesting. The splashpad will be sensor operated meaning water will not be constantly running. As no chemicals will be used to treat the water, the water can be collected in the underground tank and used to water the living wall on the adjacent café as well as trees and plants already planted on the site. The parish will continue to add to the flora and fauna to ensure bio-diversity net gains on the site. 

The Parish Council has upgraded its CCTV on site and is looking to purchase a roving CCTV camera. The Local Neighbourhood Policing Team will support the Council where appropriate.   

Both the Café and Splashpad have been funded by the Parish Council’s General Reserve Fund and allocated Section 106 (Developer's Contribution) monies from Eastleigh Borough Council.

Community Cafe FAQs

The Council, under advice from its Architects, Structural Engineers and EBC Planning Department, have undertaken extensive soil and ground strength tests to determine a robust foundation design for the café building. These tests, along with the preparation of structural drawings have taken a significant amount of time, inevitably pushing back the project start date.

Now that all tests and the subsequent designs have been completed, this project can move forward with the Council's appointed building contractor Vision D&B Ltd.

The Council is currently in the process of preparing appropriate contracts and insurance documents with the contractor. Once these have been completed, it is hoped that works on site will start at the beginning of April 2023. Appropriate security fencing will be erected on the site and site notices will be displayed. Building notices and regular updates will be shared via social media channels.

The site will be managed and run by Vision D&B Ltd. Their construction hours will be 8.00am – 5.00pm from Monday to Friday.

Site welfare facilities will be placed to the east of the site.

Unfortunately there will be some noise from this development but it will be limited to the hours as described. If you suffer any significant inconvenience from the construction noise please contact us on the details found under 'what to do if you have any comments and/or concerns' section.

The contractor has given an estimate build time of 7 months, with completion in November. Should the build time over or under-run, residents will be informed via social media and on-site notices.

Initially, it is intended that the café will open 3 days a week - the specific days and times have yet to be determined and will depend upon demand and resources.

The café will be run by the Fountain Café as a CIC.

The current trees along Shorts Road will be inspected by the Council’s independent arborculturalist, following their advice, works to trees will be undertaken and completed by the end of April 2023.

An independent landscape design has been produced which can be viewed on the Council’s website. This includes metal fencing, shrubs, planters and additional trees.

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It is hoped that the Council will receive grant funding for the installation of the living wall. As well as public art funds for the installation of a small decorative fountain in the courtyard.

Other sustainable build elements can be found under FAQ's on the dedicated Fountain Café Project page.

If residents have any comments or concerns that they wish to raise, they can email enquiries@fairoak-pc.gov.uk