Issue - meetings

To provide Environment and Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee with a presentation on the progress to develop a BCP Greenspaces Play & Wheeled Play Strategy 

BCP Council does not currently have a strategy in place for play and as such does not have any tangible foundation from which to support the development and provision of play opportunities. The Council’s fixed play assets are ageing and in decline. Given the financial context the Council is facing it is vital that data and evidence captured as part of the strategy development is used to support future decisions in terms of play location, investment and maintenance.  

The Council is committed to the development of the strategy recognising the importance of play to the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of children and young people living and visiting the conurbation. The strategy will set out:  

·        A vision for play

·        A design standard

·        An evidence base of current provision

The Strategic Lead for Green Spaces and Conservation presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. The Committee was advised that the presentation provided information on progress to develop a BCP Greenspaces Play & Wheeled Play Strategy.  It was noted that BCP Council does not currently have a strategy in place for play and as such does not have any tangible foundation from which to support the development and provision of play opportunities. The Council’s fixed play assets were ageing and in decline. Given the financial context the Council was facing it was vital that data and evidence captured as part of the strategy development is used to support future decisions in terms of play location, investment, and maintenance.  The Council remained committed to the development of the strategy, recognising the importance of play to the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of children and young people living and visiting the conurbation. It was explained that the strategy would set out:  

·       A vision for play

·       A design standard

·       An evidence base of current provision

In the following discussion a number of issues were raised by the Committee which included:

·     There were lots of play assets across the BCP area. These were subject to annual independent inspections for safety checks but funding for maintenance and repairs was limited. There had been no additional government funding since the Play Builder programme.

·     The paper was welcomed and there were concerns raised regarding the very limited budget available for maintenance and repair of a large number of sites. It was suggested that there could be some community involvement in trying to improve them. It was noted that the cost of play equipment was significant, and everything needed to meet specified standards and budgets for repair were not always sufficient which has meant equipment has needed to be approved.

·     Residents frequently raised concerns about the condition of play sites but without additional funding it difficult to do much beside paint, remove litter and clear shrubs. It was suggested that there should be a method by which residents could set up support groups for individual parks but Councillors advised that they had heard reports of residents being told they could not do certain things. 

·     Friends groups/support groups – There needed to be some sort of Council facilitation and limited by resources. Would need to get some sort of agreement in place to ensure that everyone is aware of roles and responsibilities.

·     Request for ward councillor involvement in the development of the play strategy. It was noted that it would need to be considered how

Ward Councillor involvement would be done as this would affect every ward across the borough in different ways.

·     Emphasising the ability of children to independently and safely access these areas. It was suggested that there needed to be a method within the documentation highlighting this and increasing accessibility. It was noted that everyone  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7