Keith,
I'm currently getting help from DDC over a play area and I know from discussions over what they can do that they have helped a lot of areas recently, and are helping still more. We too have the problem of finding a site that meets current legislation requirements, there's no way round that.
I don't know anything about money that was available and lost for Clarendon but generally there is no funding directly for play areas, they largely need to be funded from grants. I suggest you go and look at Guston and see the long list of sponsors that they have had to approach to get their funding, and then only once they had the site.
Maybe it's time you put your stirring spoon on Ebay and donated the proceeds to start a funding pot
