Four more outdoor gyms for Croydon parks: Thornton Heath, Old Coulsdon, Addiscombe and South Norwood next in line

Four more Croydon parks will get free outdoor gyms over the next year: Mayfield Road Playground in Thornton Heath, Grange Park in Old Coulsdon, Ashburton Playing Fields in Addiscombe and South Norwood Recreation Ground. The council announced the locations on 31 July, saying each site will receive “new, fully accessible gym equipment”. (Croydon Council newsroom, 31 July 2026)

The four are the latest instalment of Executive Mayor Jason Perry’s pledge to deliver 16 new outdoor gyms and 16 new playgrounds across the borough by 2030. The equipment is funded through the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund rather than from the council’s own stretched budget, and the council says it will shape the kit with residents and with the group Croydon Calisthenics.

Where the rollout stands

Three outdoor gyms are already open, at Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, Higher Drive Recreation Ground in the Purley area and Selsdon Recreation Ground. A fourth, at South Norwood Lakes, is expected to be completed in August according to the announcement. With the four newly named sites, eight of the promised 16 gyms are open, under construction or in the pipeline, leaving eight still to be named before 2030. (Croydon Council newsroom)

“We promised to invest in Croydon’s parks and we are delivering,” Mayor Perry said in the announcement. “They will be accessible and shaped by the communities who use them, helping more residents to get active and enjoy Croydon’s parks.”

The gyms sit alongside a parallel playground programme. In June the council named this year’s four playground sites: Milne Park in New Addington, Courtwood Playground in Forestdale, Mayfield Road in Thornton Heath and Rickman Hill in Coulsdon. Mayfield Road appears on both lists, so that site is due play and gym equipment together.

What it means for you

If you live near any of the four named parks, expect consultation before installation: the council says the equipment will be shaped with residents and Croydon Calisthenics, which is the stage at which requests, for example for accessible or beginner-friendly kit, actually land. No opening dates have been given for the four new sites beyond “the next year”, so the gyms already open at Upper Norwood, Higher Drive and Selsdon recreation grounds remain the nearest free options in the meantime, with South Norwood Lakes due to join them within weeks.

For more practical local information, see our guides to Croydon bin collection days and Croydon council tax bands.

Sources

• Croydon Council newsroom, Four more outdoor gyms on the way for Croydon, 31 July 2026 (locations, funding, rollout status, playground sites and the quoted remarks from Mayor Perry)

Image: South Norwood Recreation Ground by Dr Neil Clifton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Chart by Croydon Today.