AN ADVENTURE playground, which was hit by an arson attack 18 months ago, wants to build an activity barn to provide an new indoor space for play.

Bosses at Eccleshill Adventure Playground, which delivers free adventure play sessions, have submitted the plans to Bradford Council.

The scheme, which is being funded by a £122,000 grant from Sport England, is to replace a previous indoor play space on the site, known as the "hobbit house".

The straw and timber structure was damaged beyond repair in an arson attack in September 2018, with an estimated £50,000 of damage caused.

The adventure playground, which operates as a charity, is also known as “Bradford’s Big Swing” thanks to its enormous rope swing.

In a design and access statement to accompany the application it states: "In 2018, the site was subject to an arson attack which left the internal play space on the site, known as the Hobbit House, in an irreparable condition.

"The location of the building has been re-worked to form a timber fort play structure as it is ideally positioned to link to other fixed pieces of equipment on site, however this has left The Big Swing without an indoor activity space.

"In addition to being a play space, the Hobbit House provided drop in opportunities for the local community and was also used and rented for training, partner meetings, cooking sessions, community lunches, school and group sessions and for seasonal events and conferences."

In order to build the new activity barn, an existing workshop and storage building on the site will need to be demolished.

But this will allow a modern building to be constructed which "will lend itself to a wide range of community opportunities as an upgrade to the original Hobbit House".

The space inside the activity barn will be a flexible space with a folding wall and moveable units to the kitchen.

Manager Janet Jewitt told the Telegraph & Argus: "Sport England has recognised that a lot of children from disadvantaged areas are not being encouraged sufficiently to be more active, whereas more affluent families pay for clubs and social activities."

Just over a year ago, the scheme received a boost as it was awarded a grant from the charitable arm of the T&A, the Gannett Foundation, to construct a new outdoor play structure on the site of the destroyed "hobbit house". This timber fort is now in place.

Earlier this month, those running the adventure playground were left frustrated after the trial of two schoolboys accused of setting fire to the Hobbit House collapsed.

Key witnesses failed to turn up to court to give their evidence against the 15-year-old and 14-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

As a result the prosecution offered no evidence in the case and the trial collapsed.

At the time Mrs Jewitt said that while they had moved on, they were disappointed that no one would be held legally responsible for the attack.

She added of the future plans: “We have however, drawn a line under this episode and remain open for business as usual. We welcome existing and new visitors to come and play on the new structure and eagerly await the construction of our new building, hopefully in time for summer 2020.”