A new structure incorporating wooden posts and nets for rest and play is taking shape in the Mary Baily Playing Field. The structure has been designed and built by a group of local young people, recruited as part of a co-design project with Woodland Tribe, Super Roots and Neighbourhood Toolbox, funded by Frome Town Council (FTC). The project came about following research by the town council that indicated a lack of suitable outdoor spaces for teenagers in Frome.
The young people started work in January this year and took part in workshops to learn about the design and build process and site visits to Longleat Forest, Valley Sawmills and Whatley Quarry, researching locally sourced materials for their project. They developed a brief, thinking about all the different users of the space, developed concept models of their ideas and then brought everything together with a final design. The young people wanted to create a structure that felt like their own – a place to chat, play around on and be together. A second phase of the project is planned for Autumn 2026, when the team will work with FTC’s Tree Officer Helen Viner to plant some trees around the new structure.
Milo, 13, said “I really liked the design process because everyone really liked my design which made me very happy! There were loads of different ideas but it all boiled down to a similar thing – everyone liked nets”
Laser, 12 said “Nets are fun; you can relax in them and play in them. I foresee that there’ll be tons of kids playing on it, pretty much every day, all the time.”
Eadah 13, said “It was kinda fun. Basically, the first workshop we went to all these places, to see where resources and stuff came from, things that people could donate. After that we did some designs. I’m definitely excited to see it; I think it’ll look really good when it’s painted.”
Jack, 14 “I’m quite hands-on myself so to do the painting and the making and the design was quite appealing to me. It was a lot more complicated than I thought because we had to factor in budget – we had to use local materials, so we went to the quarry, to Longleat Woods and quite a few places we could get materials from. I feel quite proud that this is going to be here for a while…it’s a nice feeling that people are going to use the stuff that you’ve made and are going to enjoy it.”
Tiana, 13 said “It was really fun. I liked meeting new people and making friends.”
Cllr Mark Dorrington said “The young people involved in this project have worked brilliantly as a team and created something lasting and important in the Mary Baily field. We’re really proud of what they’ve achieved and we hope to repeat this process again in the future, with our young people taking an active role in creating the spaces they relax and socialise in together.”
Find out more about Woodland Tribe at https://www.woodlandtribe.org/. More information about Super Roots is at https://super-roots.org/. Neighbourhood Toolbox is at https://neighbourhoodtoolbox.co.uk/.
