Amenities

Amenities are the community facilities your council looks after or wants to promote — parks, playgrounds, sports fields, village halls and the like. Each one gets its own page with a description, opening hours, a map location and photos.

▶ Video The amenities directory · 1 min

Adding an amenity

Go to Content › Amenities in the sidebar.
Select New Amenity.
Fill in the form:
- Name — the facility name, for example "Recreation Ground".
- Slug — the web address for the amenity's page. This fills in automatically from the name; you rarely need to change it.
- Description — what the facility is and what's available there.
- Location — an address or a description of where to find it.
- Opening hours — set the hours for each day of the week.
- Images — upload photos of the facility for the gallery.
- Map coordinates — the latitude and longitude so the amenity appears on the interactive map.
Set Published to make it visible on the public website.
Select Create to save.

Opening hours

Opening hours are entered day by day, so you can show different times for, say, weekdays and weekends — or mark a facility as open at all times. Keep these accurate; residents rely on them before they set off.

Tip — seasonal facilities

If a facility changes hours through the year (for example a paddling pool that's only open in summer), note the season in the description as well as setting the hours, so the change is obvious to anyone reading the page.

Location and the map

The map coordinates (latitude and longitude) place the amenity on the interactive map. If you don't have the coordinates to hand, look the location up on an online map, right-click the spot and copy the figures it shows.

Coordinates are optional

An amenity without coordinates still appears in the amenities list with its description, hours and photos — it just won't show as a pin on the map. Add the coordinates whenever you can, as the map is a popular way for residents to explore what's nearby.

Photos and gallery

The images you upload form a gallery on the amenity's public page. Good photos help residents recognise a place and make the page far more inviting.

Add image descriptions

When you upload a photo, give it a short description (alt text) of what it shows. This is read aloud by screen readers and is needed to meet the accessibility regulations. Describe the scene plainly — "Children's playground with swings and a climbing frame".

the public amenities page showing facility cards with photos and opening hours — The public amenities page — each card links through to the facility's full details.

Editing or removing an amenity

Go to Content › Amenities.
Select the amenity's name to open it, make your changes, then Save.
To remove a facility, open it and choose Delete. Deleted records are kept in the trash and can be restored if you remove the wrong one.