ePetition - Consult families and children on City playground upgrades

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ePetition details

Consult families and children on City playground upgrades

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to engage in a period of open consultation with families in the communities for each park prior to undertaking upgrades to assess preferences for equipment, access and use with particular attention to the character of each play space and the needs of local children, specifically including children directly in this consultation for example accessing via schools , playgroups and childcare settings. Assess community satisfaction with upgrades already undertaken with budget allocation to address issues identified through this process and to inform future tendering and playground design. Prioritise improving quality of playgrounds with degraded or unsafe equipment particularly in low-income or low-green space areas of the city, using outputs from the above requested consultation. Generate a report of the opportunities and limitations of each playground for providing a variety of inclusive, accessible, age-appropriate play experiences.

Planned redevelopments to 45 city playgrounds require additional consultation from local families and children regarding playground character, opportunities for play, and community needs. Planned refurbishments show elimination and reduction of sensory play opportunities (e.g., sand and natural underfoot materials), elimination and reduction of risky play (e.g., climbing structures, slides), reduction of free play opportunities, introduction of access issues, issues for families in supervising play across age groups, and reduced play for older children. These have potential to reduce cross-age play, reduce opportunities for play for older children, reduce encounters with natural materials vital for motor development, reduce vital child-directed imaginative play, and present challenges for caregivers in supervising play or joining in themselves. At the same time, play areas with degraded equipment are waiting for improvements. It is not clear that systematic consultation with families has been undertaken, nor that any consultation has been made with children themselves, as per UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 12 (Respect for the views of the child) and Article 31 (Leisure, play and culture).

This ePetition ran from 14/07/2021 to 20/10/2021 and has now finished.

278 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

Will be presented to Full Council at its meeting on 21 October 2021

 


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