Bournemouth Playground Strategy 2009-14 (updated January 2011) 1. Introduction

Bournemouth has approximately 164,000 residents, it forms part of the second largest conurbation in the South West and is predicted to grow further. The majority of children live in the north of the borough (see fig. 1).

Figure 1: Density of population of children and young people across Bournemouth 2001

At the end of 2008 Bournemouth Borough Council owned and maintained a total of sixty-two playgrounds within public open space, a further three playgrounds were available for public use across the Borough owned by third sector organisations or the private sector.

The quality, size and popularity of public play areas varies considerably, from small sparsely equipped sites such as Chesildene Drive in Muscliff, through to large destination play sites such as Redhill Park – which has a large equipped play area, paddling pool, café and toilets.

Chesildene Drive – an unequipped play area

The cost of installing and maintaining public playgrounds has risen significantly over the last 20 years for a number of reasons, including costs of raw materials, increased safety and fencing recommendations.

All children’s play areas in Bournemouth are currently gated or fenced and designated as dog free areas under local byelaws. Since 2003 a programme of ensuring all equipment is surrounded by safety surfacing where appropriate to comply with current British Standard BSEN 1176.

The state of public play areas has gained significant national attention over the past two years both politically and within the media. The creation of the national body Play England has resulted in the generation of a great deal of research into children’s play, looking at best practice examples both within and outside the UK.

Most new housing development within the borough is infill, predominantly flats in place of family housing along the coast and central area. There is shortage of family housing, and new houses tend to have small gardens or no garden space at all. Bournemouth recognises that parks and public open space play an important role in providing space for active and imaginative play.

It has been recognised by the government that public play areas can contribute significantly to quality of life for children and young people, helping to improve mental and physical health, co-ordination and learning. As a result of this work the way we think about and design public play areas is now changing rapidly, with more thought being given to the spaces between play equipment and the use of a variety of natural materials and natural spaces to create adventurous and stimulating environments for imaginative play.

A modern naturally inspired playground in Vancouver, Canada.

Bournemouth Borough Council recognises the importance of public play areas and how they can contribute to quality of life for children, young people, parents and grandparents.

This strategy looks specifically at one element of a wide play agenda which is being addressed as a whole by the current and subsequent Play Strategies for Bournemouth and Poole.

2. Policy Background

2.1 Nationally the government’s aims for play through it’s Play Strategy are:

a. in every residential area, there is a variety of places for play, free of charge, supervised and unsupervised; b. local neighbourhoods are, and feel like, safe, interesting places to play; c. routes to children’s play space are safe and accessible for all children and young people; d. parks and open spaces are attractive and welcoming to children and young people, and are well-maintained and well-used; e. children and young people have a clear stake in public space and their play is accepted by their neighbours; f. children and young people behave in a way that respects other people and property; g. children, young people and their families take an active role in the development of local play spaces; and h. play places are attractive, welcoming, engaging and accessible for all local children and young people, including disabled children, children of both genders, and children from minority groups in the community. 2.2 Play England have been established to champion play for the government and help to embed best practice in play development within local authorities. Two key guidance documents they have produced are: Design for Play and Managing Risk in Play Provision. 2.2 Bournemouth has been grant aided £1.1m of Playbuilder national funding through the government’s Play Strategy to develop or improve 22 play areas across the borough between April 2009 and April 2011. 2.3 Bournemouth will continue to be guided by national and international best practice and guidance for both the design and management of risk within play provision. 2.4 Locally Bournemouth has a shared Play Strategy with Poole (Our Space Strategy, February 2007), which shares a similar vision to the Bournemouth Plan for Children, Young People and their Families 2006-11 – both aiming to provide children with the best possible start in life, including giving opportunities to be healthy and have fun. 2.5 Bournemouth has had a public playground strategy (within its Leisure Strategy) since 1996, which until 2007 broadly followed National Playing Fields Association (NPFA) play guidelines. The Leisure Strategy includes a paper on play which sets out a programme of playground development and maintenance based on meeting the former recommendations for equipped play provision. The NPFA standards have proved difficult to deliver in terms of both quantity and cost.

2.6 In developing its Green Space Strategy (2007-11) and Play Strategy (2007 jointly with Poole) Bournemouth consulted widely on how people used public open space and what they liked / disliked. We worked with children across all age ranges, parents of younger children and Bournemouth Children’s Society. Work included:

• An art and poetry competition (with over 200 entries) entitled my ‘perfect green space.’ • Questionnaires for parents of pre- school children (47 responses) • Primary School Children (workshops, DVD film & 208 questionnaires) • Secondary School Children (707 online questionnaires) • Disability Forum (workshops with over 20 disabled people attending) • Ethnic/Religious Minority Groups (workshop/questionnaires with 31responses) • Monthly visitor surveys at 15 major parks since September 2005, informal ‘drop-in’ surveys of parks and play areas, and scoring audits of over 100 parks and open spaces across the borough.

2.7 Research recognised one of the greatest inhibitors to children playing in the park (especially under 11’s) was that they were not going there on their own and parents were not inclined to take them for long periods.

2.8 We concluded that each neighbourhood area of the town needed a quality park, where children can play for longer and parents or carers might be tempted to stay longer. These need a high quality play environment, café and toilets.

2.9 The following are adopted policies on play from the Green Space Strategy, which will be progressed through the Playground Strategy:

PA1 An equipped play area should be developed for the Central Gardens (in the putting green area), with seating and public access to the café facility at the Bournemouth Tennis Centre. The Crescent Road play area could then be closed.

PA2 Additional play opportunities should be considered in Meyrick Park, Knyveton Gardens, Durley Chine and .

PA3 Provide play areas linked to libraries at Winton and Springbourne, including café and toilet facilities, to increase the appeal of a visit to either the library or the play area, whilst creating a more supervised environment to reduce anti-social behaviour.

PA4 Local Areas for Play should be monitored to see if provide a useful play function.

PA5 Should Local Areas for Play be found to be of little use, consider concentrating funds on fewer play areas, but ensure that they are better equipped and maintained. This should form part of a review of the Playground Strategy.

PA6 Develop further teen zones in town, separate from younger children’s play areas.

PA7 Investigate a new adventure facility at Queen’s Park with associated catering facilities.

3. Current Situation

3.1 Currently the Borough has an annual playground capital budget of £50,000 for new play equipment.

3.2 Over the last decade the borough has also collected developer contributions to improve leisure facilities across the borough. Approximately half of this money can be allocated to improvements to formal and informal playgrounds and related facilities. It is predicted (based on current building levels) that a further £650,000 will be collected for playground development from 2009 to 2014.

3.3 Between 2009 and 2011 a further £1.1m will be made available to improve playground facilities across the Borough through national Playbuilder funding.

3.4 Sources of income for the period 2009-14 are therefore predicted as follows:

Source Playground Improvement Fund £250,000 S106 Developer Contributions £650,000 Playbuilder Funding £1,100,000 Total £2,000,000

3.5 Currently it is estimated that a play area will – on average - require complete refurbishment every 15 years, although maintenance will be required on all equipment and safety surfacing during this period.

3.6 Bournemouth has two dedicated playground inspectors using an electronic playground management system to track condition and repairs, carrying out weekly visual inspections and quarterly physical inspections of all play equipment. Annual insurance assessments are also carried out.

3.7 The 2003 Leisure Strategy proposed a total of 79 dedicated play sites under then old NPFA standards comprising 23 large play areas, 41 local play areas and 15 unequipped local play areas. The borough could have a better distribution and quality of provision with fewer sites, with an overall improvement to play accessibility across the borough as a whole. (See in Appendix 1 – Playground Strategy Maps 2009).

3.8 It is estimated (based on recent refurbishments and play equipment costs) that the cost of refurbishing playgrounds is as follows:

Type of Playground Cost No of play equipment (thousands) items Big £100+ 8-10 Local Average £31 4-6 Small or natural play area Average £10 0

3.9 Many playgrounds are currently in poor condition or lack ancillary facilities. A reduction in the overall number of play areas within the town is required for sustainable future provision; however there are gaps in quality provision across the town that need to be addressed.

4 Policy

PL1 Following on from policies PA4 & PA5 in the Green Space Strategy the Council will cease to develop Local Areas for Play with a budget of £3000 per site.

PL2 Play areas will be designed to suit the site in which they are to be developed or refurbished. Generally they will fall into one of three categories, but may be a combination of types.

4.1 The three types of play area will be:

Natural – an unequipped site with a play space designed using natural materials to play with/on such as wood or stone.

Local – a small to medium sized equipped play area.

Big – a large play area with lots of equipment and ancillary facilities such as a café and toilets.

The sites listed in Appendix 2 make up 59 public playgrounds across the borough identified within the above mentioned categories. Broken down as follows:

19 Big x £100,000 = £1.9m/15 years = £127,000 per year. 36 Local x £31,000 = £1.16m/15 years = £74,500 per year 4 Natural x £10,000 = £0.04m/15 years = £2,500 per year

Total = £205,000 per year average cost.

4.2 Over the 5 years of this strategy increased investment into parks and play spaces is required and will depend on funding from developer contributions, the Council’s playground revenue budget, ‘Playbuilder’ national funding and potential income from land sales (see below).

Source Playground Improvement Fund £250,000 S106 Developer Contributions £650,000 Playbuilder Funding £1,100,000 Total £2,000,000 Minimum Cost Requirement £2,420,000 Shortfall £420,000

The costs above are based on a full programme of playground refurbishment or replacement over a 15 year period, costing a total of £4.03m. With the additional Playbuilder funding an accelerated programme has been created to refurbish 60% of the sites (36) over the first 5 years, costing just over £2.4m.

The above-mentioned spending plan only includes costs for play facilities and does not cover wider park facilities such as toilets and cafés. It is anticipated that the shortfall in playground funding will be made up through grant applications and income through potential land disposals.

4.3 A number of playground sites will be closed as they reach the end of their usable life. These will be in areas where a new playground is being developed very locally or that there is a very high concentration of equipped play areas.

PL3 Sites identified to close will be closed as equipment wears out, unless the land has been identified for a new use – in which case re-usable equipment may be used on another site.

PL4 Spaces should be made playful by design where possible through imaginative planting and landscaping, whether they are playgrounds or spaces not traditionally intended for play (such as local nature reserves or public gardens).

PL5 Accurate maintenance figures will be held for each playground to assist with future budget planning.

PL6 A further review of playgrounds should be undertaken in 2012-13 looking into usage and cost of spaces against child populations from the 2011 census. Deficiencies and/or over supply should be investigated.

Partnership Working, Equality & Sustainability Leisure Services will: PL7 Investigate opportunities to deliver shared playgrounds with schools that can be used by schools in school hours and the public outside those times.

PL8 Actively encourage other children’s or community services to make use of redundant buildings within parks.

PL9 Work with transport planners & engineers and Sustrans to develop better pedestrian, cycle and bus links to playgrounds to improve their accessibility to children and families.

PL10 Seek to link play areas to other services where possible to improve the viability of those services (e.g. linking to local libraries).

PL11 Actively engage children, young people and their parents within the design of new playgrounds to create popular play spaces and increase local pride and ownership.

PL12 Design playgrounds to be widely accessible and inclusive to all children and young people.

PL13 Assess the cost of non-play items within playgrounds (such as safety surfacing, fencing and street furniture) and aim to concentrate resources on better play value.

PL14 Consider the environmental impact of play and safety equipment when making choices to purchase goods. Preference should be given to more sustainable products in terms of production and lifespan.

PL15 Manage play areas with consideration given to improving biodiversity and will consider native species planting within them.

Appendix 1: Playground Strategy Maps 2009

Central, Westbourne & Grafton Close West Cliff, Talbot & Branksome Woods Wards

Meyrick Park Westbourne Close Play Areas

Crescent Road

Central Gardens

Existing site New site Playbuilder refurbishment Playbuilder new site Natural play site Durley or Middle Chine To Close Not adopted Potential Land Disposals West, Boscombe East & West Southbourne

Wards Existing site Elizabeth New site Gardens Playbuilder refurbishment

Springbourne Playbuilder new site Library Park Natural play site

To Close Churchill Gardens Not adopted St. James’ Potential Land Disposals Square

Knyveton Gardens

House of Bethany

Fisherman’s Walk Boscombe Shelley Chine Park & Iford, East Southbourne & Wards Existing site Woodcock New site Close Littledown Park Playbuilder refurbishment Sovereign Playbuilder new site Close Natural play site Cranleigh Beaufort The To Close Park Road Rookery Not adopted Littledown Potential Land Disposals Open Space Cranleigh Road

Kings Park - Kings Park Ashley Road - Clarence Park Riverlands Road

Seafield Gardens Clowes Avenue , Winton East & Queens Park Wards

Moordown Rec.

Brassey Road

Pine Road Fampoux Gardens

Winton Queens Park Library

Existing site New site

Winton Rec. Playbuilder refurbishment Playbuilder new site Natural play site Cyril Road To Close Not adopted Potential Land Disposals Muscliff & Strouden Wards Muscliff Stratton Wishart Park Road Gardens Rownhams Chesilbourne Road Grove Epiphany School Chesidene Drive Helyar Road

Knowlton Cadnum Way Gardens Townsend Swansbury Drive Cucklington Gardens Sway Gardens Noyce Gardens Gunville Crescent Michelmersh Existing site Green New site Chesildene Avenue Playbuilder refurbishment

Playbuilder new site Mallard Road Natural play site CrescentCheshire DriveRoad A & B To Close Bradpole Mountbatten Not adopted Road Gardens Strouden Potential Land Disposals Playing Fields North, Kinson South, Redhill & Northbourne, & Winton West Wards

Pelhams 1 Moore Avenue 2 Deacon Park Close 2 Cunningham Crescent Durdells Keeble Anchor Gardens Estate 3 Moorside Road Road 4 Moore Avenue Park 5 Poole 5 Berrans Avenue Lane Kinson 6 Draper Road Common

Fairways Existing site Estate Long Road New site Paddington Playbuilder refurbishment 6 Grove Playbuilder new site 4 2 Kingsleigh Natural play site 1 3 Fields To Close Not adopted Mandale St. Road Potential Land Disposals George’s Drive Redhill Fernheath Park Riggs Road Cornish Gardens Gardens Canford Webbs Avenue Slades Way Farm Appendix 2: Playground Proposals (with outline dates)

Name Ward Type Change Year Central Gardens Central Big New Complete 2009 Cornish Gardens Winton W. & Wallisdown Natural From Local Complete 2009 Cyril Rd Park Queens Park Local None Complete 2009 Fairways Estate Kinson South Local None Complete 2010 Keeble Road Kinson North Local None Complete 2010 Kinson Common Kinson North Local None Complete 2010 Littledown Open Space Littledown & Iford Local None Complete 2010 Mountbatten Gardens Strouden Local None 2012-13 Poole Lane Kinson South Local None Complete 2011 Redhill Park Redhill & Northbourne Big None Complete 2010 Setley Gdns/Cadnum Way Muscliff Big Upgrade Complete 2010 Springbourne Park E.Cliff & Springbourne Local New Complete 2011 The Rookery W. Southbourne Natural New Complete 2009

Brassey Rd. Moordown Natural From Local Complete 2010 Churchill Gardens Boscombe West Big None 2010-11 Durley/Middle Chine Westbourne & W.Cliff Natural New 2012-13 Knyveton Gardens E.Cliff & Springbourne Local New 2010-11 Littledown Park Littledown & Iford Big None Complete 2010 Long Road Kinson North Local None Complete 2010 Mandale Road Kinson South Local None 2010-11 Muscliff Park Muscliff Big None 2010-11 Queens Park Queens Park Big New 2010-11 Seafield Gardens E.Southbourne & Tuckton Big None 2010-11 Townsend Park Strouden Big New 2010-11 Winton Rec Winton East Big None 2010-11

Bradpole Road Strouden Big None 2011-12 Name Ward Type Change Year Meyrick Park Talbot & Branksome Woods Local New 2011-12 Winton W. & Wallisdown Big None 2011-12 Turbary Common S. Winton W. & Wallisdown Local New 2011-12

Grafton Close Talbot & Branksome Woods Local New 2012-13 Kingsleigh Redhill & Northbourne Local New 2012-13 Shelley Park Boscombe East Local None 2012-13 Winton Library Winton East Local New 2012-13

St James’ Square Boscombe East Local or natural New 2011-12 Beaufort W. Southbourne Big New 2013-14 Kings Park (Clarence Rd) Littledown & Iford Local None 2013-14

Alum Chine Westbourne & W.Cliff Big None Anchor Close Kinson North Local Local Boscombe Chine E.Cliff & Springbourne Local None Butchers Coppice Kinson North Not BBC None N/A Chesildene Avenue Muscliff Local None Colehill Crescent Muscliff Local None Deacon Road Kinson North Local Local Epiphany School Muscliff Local None Fernheath Kinson South Not BBC None N/A Fisherman’s Walk Boscombe East Big Upgrade Gunville Crescent Muscliff Local None Kings Park (Ashley Rd) Littledown & Iford Big None Mallard Road Strouden Local Local Moordown Rec. Moordown Big None Moore Avenue Kinson South Big None Noyce Gardens Strouden Local None Pelhams Park Kinson North Big None Name Ward Type Change Year Pine Road Winton East Local None Riggs Gardens Winton W. & Wallisdown Local None Riverlands E.Southbourne & Tuckton Local None Rownhams Road Muscliff Local None St Georges Drive Kinson South Not BBC None N/A Stratton Road Muscliff Local None Westbourne Close Westbourne & W.Cliff Local None

Cheshire Drive A Strouden Close Close N/A Cheshire Drive B Strouden Close Close N/A Chesildene Drive Muscliff Close Close N/A Cranleigh Rd W. Southbourne Close Close N/A Crescent Road Central Close Close N/A Cucklington Gdns Muscliff Close Close N/A Cunningham Cres. Kinson South Close Close N/A Durdells Gardens Kinson North Close Close N/A Helyar Road Strouden Close Close N/A House of Bethany Boscombe West Close Close N/A Michelmersh Green Muscliff Close Close N/A Moore Avenue 2 Kinson South Close Close N/A Moorside Road Kinson South Close Close N/A Paddington Grove Kinson South Close Close N/A Strouden Playing Fields Strouden Close Close N/A Swansbury Drive Strouden Close Close N/A Webbs Way Winton W. & Wallisdown Close Close N/A Wishart Gardens Muscliff Close Close N/A