Agenda item

The Committee will receive a presentation from the Environment Directorate on Play in the BCP area. Following this there will be an opportunity for questions from members of the Committee.

The Director for Environmental Services, the Strategic Lead for Greenspace and Conservation and the Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Active Health (standing in for the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place), gave a presentation to the Committee a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Committee and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these minutes in the Minute Book. Following the presentation, a number of points raised by the Committee were addressed, including:

·     Public Consultation – It was suggested that July and August may not be a good time to conduct this as there will be many people away on holiday and in addition there would also be lots of visitors to the area, who may not be best placed to engage on this issue. It was acknowledged that the service would be happy to extend the consultation and also to receive any suggestions which Members may have regarding engagement with communities and partners. It was noted that the consultation would be on a broad basis and the service would liaise with children’s services. It was also suggested that it should be ensured that the consultation was not purely digital.

·     Antisocial Behaviour – A Councillor asked in relation to damage to equipment whether CCTV was in use, in particular whether mobile cameras were deployed in areas with specific problems identified by local communities. Movement through different parks – week by week. with communities. It was noted that whilst CCTV could be of use people would take measures to ensure that they could not be identified through it and there was not a particular team to target this. It was noted that a Strike Camera used in Sherborne skatepark had appeared to address issues there. However, it was understood that this was monitored. The Chairman agreed to follow up on the issue of Mobile CCTV cameras with Cllr Dove. The Chief Operations Officer advised that there were 14 units which could be deployed on request from the police or Anti-Social Behaviour Team based on documented evidence. A document with information around this was due to be released soon.

·     Accessibility – A Councillor commented that there was a need to ensure that play was available for all ages and styles so that nobody would feel that it wasn’t for them. Public spaces needed to be accessible for all and play friendly.

·     Funding – It was noted that there was a strong public health benefit to good play facilities supporting people being active and Sport England should also support initiatives to get people active. It was suggested that there may be areas where additional funding may be found. A Councillor acknowledged that the maintenance budget for play equipment was extremely small and it was amazing that the team managed to keep things going. Whilst play areas do not produce their own income the do help generate income from other areas such as Café’s and this positive relationship should be encouraged. The Board was advised that the team looked at all potential avenues for funding.

·     Play Equipment – It was noted that there had been a number of instances of play equipment being removed recently following failed inspections, most of the equipment had been installed with play builder funding 15 years ago. It appeared that there had been no investment year on year in terms of capital reserves with a view to replacement equipment at the end of the lifespan of the play builder funded equipment. It was suggested that the Councils had dropped the ball with regards to this and an expectation that central government would step in.

·     Insurance – A Councillor sought clarification on the Council’s position on insurance for play equipment as they were advised that it was insured but then Councillors were also fundraising for replacement equipment following vandalism. The Committee was advised that approaches to play insurance differed across legacy authorities. Poole chose to insure all of its play sites, but this was not the case in Bournemouth. This was currently under review.

·     Teenage girls – It was noted that provision for older children was mainly skateparks and multi-use games areas, these were mainly used by teenage boys, officers were asked what provision there was to engage with teenage girls. The Portfolio Holder suggested that design inclusivity was important not just for age and gender but also different abilities and ethnicities. Inclusive play was important and this linked into a number of different strategies supporting outdoor leisure provision.

·     Concern was raised with potential suggestions of decommissioning play equipment as there was a strong need for play spaces within walking distance for all children not just the larger flagship play areas across the conurbation. The Portfolio Holder advised that the ethos behind the strategy and moving forward was not just to protect but to enhance neighbourhood play areas as well.

·     Map of Play Sites – It was suggested that it would be useful to have an interactive scalable map available for play sites on the website. Officers undertook to follow up on this – it was thought there may already be one available.

·     BCP play strategy – A Councillor commented that there was a need to be careful not to heighten public expectations because this was about developing a play strategy and then it would need to be seen what actually happens once that was in place. The consultation would need to be realistic and would cover a 10–15-year timeframe. The Committee made further suggestions and comments regarding the delivery of the consultation including ensuring engagement with those who do not currently use play facilities.

The Chairman thanked the Officers in attendance and their team for the work that they had done and providing the update to the Committee.