{"id":652479,"date":"2026-05-06T22:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T22:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/652479\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T22:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T22:51:08","slug":"newton-park-needs-cricket-pickleball-volleyball-facilities-survey-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/652479\/","title":{"rendered":"Newton park needs cricket, pickleball, volleyball facilities, survey says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newton park needs cricket, pickleball, volleyball facilities, survey says<\/p>\n

Published 2:15 pm Wednesday, May 6, 2026<\/p>\n

Newton\u2019s Unwin Park should have cricket facilities, pickleball and volleyball courts, better pool and changing facilities and an expanded playground.<\/p>\n

So said Surrey residents in a first round of public engagement focused on the future of the 15-hectare community park, on 68 Avenue.<\/p>\n

Key concerns include insufficient parking, lack of lighting, size and quality of the pool and water spray park and \u201cexisting sports facilities do not support current community need.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 55-page Engagement Summary<\/a> and fresh survey (open until May 29) are posted on surrey.ca\/unwinpark<\/a>. Feedback will help inform the next phases of the project, \u201censuring that the Unwin Park Plan reflects the community\u2019s needs and aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlanner in the Park\u201d drop-in events at Unwin Park are on Saturday, May 9 (10 a.m. to noon), Wednesday, May 13th (3 to 5 p.m.) and Thursday, May 14 (8 to 10 a.m.).<\/p>\n

Currently, Unwin is home to a water park, outdoor pool, eight baseball diamonds, batting cage, space to play soccer, dog off-leash area, lacrosse box, basketball court, picnic shelters and Surrey\u2019s largest inclusive playground (Jumpstart).<\/p>\n

Members of Newton Canadian Baseball Association last year voted to dissolve the organization<\/a>, ending 73 years of baseball in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

In February, Surrey council approved a $3.6-million contract for MBG Buildings Inc. to design and build a covered multi-sports box<\/a> at Unwin.<\/p>\n

During an \u201cideas gathering\u201d phase in November, more than 1,500 people shared how they use the park and what amenities they would like to see.<\/p>\n

Other new features touted for the park include accessible walking paths and trail infrastructure, additional seating and picnic amenities, plus shade and weather protection.<\/p>\n

Many of those surveyed \u201chighlighted sports opportunities and tradition, especially the baseball and soccer fields, cricket nets and lacrosse\/hockey boxes, and some spoke nostalgically about playing or coaching there over decades and wanting those facilities to continue for future generations,\u201d according to the engagement report.<\/p>\n

\u201cSport users also added that the park\u2019s size and existing field footprint provide a strong foundation for a future multisport hub, particularly for groups that require multiple fields or large spaces at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what three words come to mind when thinking about the ideal future for Unwin Park, most people responded with \u201cSafety,\u201d \u201cFun & Enjoyment,\u201d \u201cNature & Greenery\u201d and \u201cMulti-use & Recreation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The park was named after First Wold War veteran Harry Unwin, who was born in 1872 in England and came to Canada in 1910. \u201cHe was part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, seeing battle in The Somme, among other areas of Europe,\u201d according to Surrey Historical Society. \u201cHe came home to Surrey where he made his home near where Unwin Park stands today.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Future of Surrey\u2019s Unwin Park won\u2019t be so baseball-focused<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newton park needs cricket, pickleball, volleyball facilities, survey says Published 2:15 pm Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Newton\u2019s Unwin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,163792,87674],"class_list":["post-652479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-lower-mainland","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}