Workers' Liberty

There is something called something like "The Village Greens Initiative" - sorry to be a bit vague. It allows communities to identify pieces of land which have traditionally been used for communal use. If you get a piece of land accepted as a "Village Green" - you don't have to actually live in a village - then not only does it prevent any development of the land, but you can also get grants to improve the land for community use. A Google search will provide information about how to apply - hopefully. If nothing else the timne required for an inquiry delays things, and provides a focus for a campaign against any development.

IN addition the Government sets minimum standards for the amount of Green Space that every Council has to provide within its boundaries. This target is also a Best Value indicator. Most Councils are woefully inadequate, and the quality of open space can also be challenged. The National Playing Fields Association also has its own standards for the amount of space - not just playgrounds, and sports fields - which Councils should provide. Again many don't meet it.

Best practice on playing fields sets out the amounts of playing facilities of different types that should be provided. A few years ago I produced a strategy entitled "A Policy for Play" - unfortunately, I don't have a copy, but I'll see if there is any chance I could get them to let me have one for distribution, as it is supposedly a Public document. The United Nations has set out the importance of Play for children and set it out as being a basic Human Right. I based my strategy on Best Practice around the country. In each area there should be basically 3 types of play facilities. Firstly, there should be strategically placed fairly large Playgrounds - I forget now the actual term for these. These playgrounds are designed for a fairly wide range of children. They have a large number and range of play equipment, as well as skate parks, teen shelters etc. They should be situated such that children from as wide an area as possible can get to them conveniently. Often they are located in Parks. Then comes Neighbourhood Playgrounds. There should be a greater number of these, again situated so as to enable the maximum number of children to use them. These tend to be designed for younger children who are not able to travel the longer distances to the larger playgrounds. Both of these former types should also have simple open space for creative play, and for sorting activity. Finally, there is the small playground which is basically just small plots of open space located within an estate. They are designed primarily for toddlers udner supervision, and may just be open space or hem to run around in, or have a couple of pieces of equipment.

In Newcastle when we developed this strategy we looked at measures of deprivation within the borough, and compared it with the levels of existing provision, and then using a matrix I designed established priorities for investment. Using a number of measures, and demographics we looked at the best possible sites for each type of facility, and then consulted with residents on the plans for their area - bearing in mind that some people are hostile to having playgrounds close to them. Once sites were established we worked with established tenants organisations on the plans. The Tenant's also agreed to supervise and control the playgrounds, opening and closing them, clearing litter and dangerous materials, and supervising the kids to avoid problems with anti-social elements. Many playgrounds had been closed due to vandalism every time new equipment was installed. This new set up worked very well, and vandalism in this community run facilities virtually stopped. As a result more money was available for new equipment each year, and to replace genuinely worn out equipment.

Arthur Bough

Thanks for your comments, Arthur. There is now more detail on this issue on my blog, here.