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Why we put children first
It may be child's play – but that doesn't mean it's easy.
Ask Timberplay, the Sheffield firm that, in just 10 years, has become one of the most respected names in the UK playground design and equipment business.
The Aizlewood's Mill company has created 'playscapes' for a string of prestigious clients and locations, including the exclusive Hurlingham Club in London, the National Trust's Lyme Park estate on the edge of the Peak District and The Metrocentre in Gateshead. For founder Paul Collings, Timberplay's success is rooted in one basic principal.
"We try to put children first," says Collings, who was brought up in Gleadless, trained as an accountant and worked for a stockbroker in London before deciding to find a job in the north, because he was missing Sheffield.
While working for a school furniture company in Leeds, Collings got to hear about a German playground equipment company, called Richter Spielgerte, that was looking for a new UK distributor.
A number of UK companies, already operating in the playground sector, were keen to work with a world leader in the field like Richter, but the Germans chose Collings.
"They weren't looking for people who had play knowledge; they were looking for people they wanted to work with," says Timberplay's sales and marketing director, Martyn Scholey. "We talked about children and play, not about financial objectives," adds Collings.
With the distributorship deal in his pocket, Paul Collings set about learning about the play industry.
"I started going to conferences and seminars and reading up on play, trying to understand what made a good playground. I listened to what the experts were saying made a good play space and I realised it wasn't what our customers were asking for. At first, I thought I was missing a trick, but, after a while, I realised it was a dysfunctional market.
"Richter's ethos – and our ethos – is to put play value first. At the point the decision is taken to build a new play space, children and their needs are foremost in everyone's thoughts. After that, all these adult agendas take over.
"It's mainly about adult anxieties; fears of litigation, vandalism, anti-social behaviour, dog mess… which takes the focus away from what we are trying to do, which is to create a space where children like playing.
"Typically, clients were asking for primary colours, fences, flat play spaces with tarmac and rubber safety surfacing. Places with little risk, that were static and easy to maintain. We have campaigned to push for what was right for children. We have been one of a number of voices calling for change."
Then, as market sentiment started responding to Timberplay's message, the company got a further boost from the launch by the then Labour Government of the 'Playbuilder Pathfinder' project to create more playgrounds across the country.
"The government was trying to encourage people to create more natural play areas, driven by children's' needs – and we had already been doing that for a couple of years," says Paul Collings.
"We have been really fortunate during the recession, because of this Playbuilder money. We had been growing 50 per cent year on year and that gave us an even bigger spurt. The coming months are going to be tougher, but we remain optimistic as we have got quite a lot of developments in the pipeline."
Firm sets the standard for others
Trailblazers get there first, but they also make the path clear for those who follow. Timberplay's drive to put children first and introduce more adventurous play equipment took time and effort.
"It did, for a while, put us in an advantageous position, but the rest of the market caught up very quickly," says Timberplay's sales and marketing director, Martyn Scholey.
"We said at the time that we were doing the ground breaking for other companies and some followed our model to a degree."
However, Timberplay continues to innovate and set the standard for others to follow.
It was the first company in the sector to employ landscape architects on a permanent basis. It also does most of its own installation work and prides itself on its adaptability, in partnership with its German supplier.
"Other companies will say: 'This is what you get. This is how it will be,' but Richter will try to adapt and be accommodating, which stands us in good stead, compared with the run of the mill products," says Martyn Scholey.
The company is also expanding into other areas, like education, through its Playgarden Design and Resources subsidiary.
"As well as providing play equipment and designing play spaces, we are offering a lot more things, like play resources; moveable play objects, things like crates for stacking, piping to create water play systems, gardening equipment, buckets and spades," says Timberplay founder Paul Collings.
"It's something we have wanted to do for a long time because it is the missing link between what you can do in public spaces and in the security of a nursery or primary school. We have got big plans."Helping to create unique play spaces
When Paul Collings started Timberplay, the company was based in a converted garage.
After a year, the company had grown sufficiently to justify sharing an office with another business at Aizelwood's Mill and now it has grown to be the second biggest company at the Nursery Street business centre, with around 25 employees.
Clients range from private sector clubs and charities to local councils and community organisations. On occasion, Timberplay can find itself using its expertise to help organisations to find the funding in addition to designing an appropriate play space, providing and installing the equipment.
"Quite often, people want something bespoke," says Timberplay's sales and marketing director, Martyn Scholey. "We prefer to make a play space unique through landscaping, rather than bespoke pieces of equipment, although it is a particular strength of Richter's to do equipment and do it well.
"If you build a boat, it's always a boat, but if it is a log, children can use their imagination," Scholey explains.
Market of opportunity
The market for play spaces is continuing to grow, despite the recession, as concerns rise about children's health and the lack of places where they can play safely.
In years gone by, parents would have few worries about their children straying up to seven miles from home.
By the 1960s that distance had shrunk to one mile, by the 1980s it was half a mile and today it is down to 100 yards, with 15 per cent of children not being allowed to play in their own gardens.
"There is a realisation that, when we were children, you played outside more," says Paul Collings.
"They are not allowed to roam now because of fears of traffic and 'stranger danger,' but that, in turn, has led to worries about their health and mental well being."
Demand for public play spaces close to children's homes continues to rise.City's range of expertise
Although he didn't realise it at the time, Paul Collings made a fortunate choice when he decided to base Timberplay in Sheffield.
He soon discovered the city boasts what he describes as a "unique cluster of experts" on play, among them Helen Woolley, from Sheffield University's Landscape Department and Perry Else, from Sheffield Hallam University.
"Because of our interest in trying to push the national agenda, we got involved with different consultants with a similar ethos and that has helped us a lot," says Collings.
"We spent a whole year letting the market know that we were about doing things differently and fortunately, the market has moved that way," adds Martyn Scholey, who also pays tribute to the academics with high level play knowledge who were also pushing for change.
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