Oaklands Park's zip wire, Priory Park's castle and Whyke Oval's farm lead 12 Chichester and Selsey playgrounds, with toilets, parking and dog rules checked.

The Chichester playgrounds most families head for are Oaklands Park, rebuilt in 2025 as the city’s big “destination” play area with a zip wire; Priory Park, with its castle; and Whyke Oval, with its farm. In Selsey it is East Beach Green, by the sea and the skate park. Every entry checked against the council’s or the town council’s own pages on 26 October 2026.

We have not reviewed these playgrounds and nothing here is a rating. Each entry sets out what Chichester District Council, Selsey Town Council, Midhurst Town Council or the park’s own trust publishes: the equipment, any recent rebuild, and whether there are toilets, parking or a cafe nearby. Where a source did not say, we have not guessed.

The 2025 rebuild. Five of the city’s six council play areas were rebuilt in 2025 as part of an £800,000 project by Chichester District Council, each with a theme taken from its surroundings and with inclusive equipment chosen with the local charity PACSO. The council’s children’s play areas page carries the designs.

Dogs. Since 16 October every fenced or gated play area in the district is a dog-free zone all year, and dogs remain banned from the whole of Priory Park. Our report on the rules has the full list and the fines.

Chichester city

1. Oaklands Park, Wellington Road

The district council opened its flagship “destination play area” here in August 2025, built with extra money from Chichester City Council, and says it is “larger than a typical play park” and meant to offer “a full ‘day out’ experience”. For younger children there is a climbing tower with net and slide, a multi-play tractor, a spinner bowl, springer bugs and stepping pods; older children get a challenging climbing unit, a zip wire and a “supernova” round balance beam.

An agility trail has an interactive play timer. Inclusive kit includes a ramped tower with slides, basket, cradle and “you and me” swings, a roundabout and a trampoline.

The council said in October 2025 that a “CocoWave” group rope swing and two picnic benches were being added. A new path across the park is funded for 2027.

Address Wellington Road
Parking Northgate car park, to the south
Cafe Chichester Festival Theatre's cafe, at the park's edge
Ages younger children's equipment and a separate set for older children
Good for zip wire, agility trail with play timer, inclusive swings, roundabout, trampoline

2. Priory Park, Priory Road

The city-centre park inside the walls, with the medieval Greyfriars chapel at its heart. The council gave its rebuilt play area, which reopened in July 2025, a castle theme “to reflect the site’s Norman history”.

The Sussex Express, reporting the council’s announcement, lists a moat to cross, the “Bailey castle” multi-play tower, an “outpost tower”, a zip-style “cliff rider”, and inclusive equipment including a carousel, a basket swing and sensory panels. The council says it refurbished the park’s public toilets as part of its district-wide toilets programme.

Address Priory Road
Parking city-centre car parks a short walk away
Toilets public toilets, refurbished with new disabled facilities
Dogs not allowed anywhere in Priory Park, all year
Good for castle theme, carousel, basket swing, sensory panels, dog-free park

3. Whyke Oval, Hay Road

A neighbourhood park in Whyke, on the south-east side of the city. The council’s rebuilt play area, which reopened in summer 2025, has a farm theme: according to the council’s announcement, there is an accessible “fairytale seesaw”, spring seats, a barn-style multi-play tower with slides and musical tree chimes.

It is one of the three play areas the council said it would return to after the October 2025 half term to add seating and new planting, working only on weekdays so the play area stayed open at weekends.

Address Hay Road
Good for farm theme, accessible seesaw, musical tree chimes, multi-use games area for ball games

4. Parklands, Sherborne Road

Parklands, in the west of the city, reopened in July 2025 with what the council calls a coastal theme, “including a dolphin play panel and an ‘under the sea’ tunnel”, which it says celebrate “the area’s seaside character”. It was part of the same £800,000 project, so the equipment was chosen with families who use it: the council says it visited each play area to ask children, parents and carers how they used it before the designs went out to consultation in March 2025.

Address Sherborne Road
Parking residential street, so expect to park on nearby roads
Good for coastal theme, dolphin play panel, "under the sea" tunnel

5. Florence Park, Florence Road

The first of the city’s play areas to be done. The council says Florence Park needed only “a ‘light touch’ refurbishment”, because users told its 2024 consultation the play area and equipment were in good condition.

It finished before Easter 2025, adding inclusive equipment such as a musical play station and a roundabout and renewing some items like for like.

Address off Florence Road, in a residential street
Good for musical play station, roundabout, multi-use games area

6. The Amphitheatre, Velyn Avenue

The last of the six council play areas to be rebuilt. The site sits in a grassed amphitheatre in Whyke, and the work needed consent from Historic England before it could go ahead.

The council said in October 2025 that the play area would close from 10 November for about three weeks while it was refurbished. We could not find the council’s own reopening notice or a description of the new equipment, so check the play areas page before a special trip.

Address Velyn Avenue, PO19 7UP

7. Graylingwell Park: Havenstoke Park and the Chapel green

Graylingwell, the new neighbourhood built on the former hospital grounds north-east of the city centre, has play areas in two places. The Chichester Community Development Trust, which runs the community buildings there, lists “Havenstoke Park and play areas”, opened in 2021, and “The Chapel, chapel green and play area”, opened in 2022.

The play area in Havenstoke Park, in the photograph above, has timber climbing frames, a slide, a basket swing and stone seating set into the grass. EDGE Tea & Coffee, which runs the cafe in the restored Graylingwell Chapel, says it has run it for almost six months.

Corrected 28 October: the Chapel cafe is run by EDGE Tea & Coffee, not Caccia and Tails as we first wrote.

Cafe Graylingwell Chapel, run by EDGE Tea & Coffee; published hours differ between listings, so check before you go
Good for timber climbing frames, slide, basket swing, stone seating

Selsey

8. East Beach Green

The town council’s seafront green, running parallel to East Beach. Destination Selsey, the council’s visitor site, describes “a play park with a range of inclusive play equipment and a large area to play ball games, fly kites or just to let the kids run free”.

Next to it is a free skate park and BMX track “complete with grind boxes and an angled half pipe”; the skate park went in in 2015 and the BMX track was resurfaced in 2019.

Parking chargeable car park off Beach Road, with a height barrier
Toilets behind the East Beach Kiosk, with disabled facilities; closed at night; no baby change
Good for inclusive play equipment, ball games and kites, free skate park, BMX track

9. Hillfield Park

Destination Selsey describes “a well-maintained children’s play park, contained for added safety”, with an adventure trail and climbing wall. Beside the car park is a painted seal that forms part of the Selsey Seal Art Trail.

Address just south of the High Street
Parking small car park beside the painted seal
Toilets further south towards the sea on Hillfield Road, with disabled facilities; closed at night
Dogs on a lead in the main park; fenced dog walking area
Good for contained play park, adventure trail, climbing wall, Selsey Seal Art Trail

10. Manor Green Park

Destination Selsey lists play equipment “for toddlers to teenagers”, a fenced section with equipment for young children and seating for parents, and a sensory garden. The town council has since had the play area rebuilt: a case study from its contractor, eibe Play, published in March 2026, describes a “Selsey Play Tram” echoing the town’s old railway, a “Rainbow Play Mound”, a Tough Trail for teenagers inspired by Ninja Warrior and parkour, inclusive equipment and a new dog park.

Address in the north of the town
Toilets yes, listed by Destination Selsey
Ages toddlers to teenagers; fenced section for young children
Dogs fenced dog walking area; new dog park
Good for sensory garden, Selsey Play Tram, Tough Trail for teenagers, inclusive equipment

11. Oval Field

A grassy field above the beach near Selsey Bill. Destination Selsey describes a play park with “an excellent zip wire”, swings, a roundabout, a slide and a seesaw, with astronomy-themed play panels honouring Sir Patrick Moore, one of Selsey’s best-known residents, and a multi-use games area for netball or basketball.

Address off Grafton Road
Parking limited; the council asks visitors to respect residents' access
Toilets none at Oval Field; nearest at the Lifeboat Station or on Hillfield Road
Dogs on a lead
Good for zip wire, astronomy play panels, multi-use games area for netball or basketball

Midhurst

Carron Lane Recreation Ground

Closing next week for a rebuild. Midhurst Town Council says the playground at Carron Lane is more than 30 years old, and the Sussex Express reported in September that work by the playground firm Kompan will start on Monday 2 November and is expected to finish by the end of the month, weather permitting. The new design includes swings, climbing equipment and interactive elements. It is paid for from the town council’s budget with Community Infrastructure Levy money from local housing development, and grants from the South Downs National Park Authority and Chichester District Council.

How we chose

These are the play areas Chichester families search for and that publish details we could check: the six run by Chichester District Council in the city, the play areas at Graylingwell, the town council play parks in Selsey and the one Midhurst is rebuilding. The facts come from the councils’ own announcements and visitor pages, the Chichester Community Development Trust, and the reports linked in each entry; where a source did not say whether there are toilets or parking, we have not filled the gap. Run a park, a cafe beside one, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@chichesterlive.co.uk.

For more ideas, see things to do in Chichester, October half term in Chichester, what’s on in Chichester this month, our guides to Chichester cafes, restaurants and Sunday roasts, or browse local businesses in Chichester in our directory.

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest playground in Chichester?

Oaklands Park. Chichester District Council rebuilt it in summer 2025, with extra money from Chichester City Council, as a ‘destination play area’ that it says is larger than a typical play park. It has a zip wire, a challenging climbing unit, an agility trail with a play timer and inclusive swings, roundabout and trampoline.

Can I take my dog into a Chichester playground?

No. Under the district’s renewed dog control rules, every children’s play area enclosed by a fence or gate is a dog-free zone all year, and dogs are banned from the whole of Priory Park all year. Some disabled people with trained assistance dogs are exempt.

Which Chichester playgrounds have inclusive equipment?

All five play areas Chichester District Council rebuilt in 2025 include inclusive equipment, designed with the local charity PACSO. Oaklands Park has a ramped tower with slides, basket, cradle and ‘you and me’ swings, a roundabout and a trampoline; Priory Park has a carousel, basket swing and sensory panels; Whyke Oval has an accessible seesaw.