Didcot Playground Equipment Installation

Client: Kompan / Didcot Town Council

Budget: £5,000

Department: Highways and Civil Engineering

Completed: May 2025

Summary

The ODS Highways team was approached by Kompan to remove a dilapidated and unsafe play structure on behalf of Didcot Town Council and replace it with a Kompan wall climber unit in the playground on Great Western Drive Park.

Requirements

To take down and remove a dilapidated and unsafe play structure.

To build and install a Kompan wall climber unit – the BLOQX 6. BLOQX™ is like no other playground element, it combines the test of a moving round and over a geometrical puzzle, with a challenging climb. The unit was built on site.

To install two springers in the sand pit area. – a crazy hen and a crazy nellie.

Challenges

1. There were large areas of solid concrete beneath the surface where we needed to dig and secure the anchor points of the play equipment.

2. A delay on the original delivery/installation date, which was out of our control, put pressure on the planned work.

3. The unit is installed from the inside out and involves fixing a very large number of nuts and bolts. Due to the extreme warm weather when undertaking this project, it was uncomfortable for the operatives working inside the hexagon.

Solutions

We used our electric mini excavator to assist in breaking out the concrete, reducing carbon emissions and noise pollution.

The team were provided with a consistent supply of cold water, suncream and hats and took regular breaks to remain hydrated.

Results

The play equipment installation was successfully completed and is available for children to use.

Client Testimonial

"It was a pleasure to work with ODS on the project. Their professionalism and excellent communication made this huge Bloqx 6 unit a breeze to install. We were very impressed with the quality of the finish and will certainly be working with ODS on future projects."

Ben Shears, Area Sales Manager, Kompan

During

After