Public Play Areas Review
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THIS REPORT RELATES STIRLING COUNCIL TO ITEM 7 ON THE AGENDA EXECUTIVE CHILDREN’S SERVICES 12 FEBRUARY 2008 NOT EXEMPT PUBLIC PLAY AREAS REVIEW 1 SUMMARY 1.1 The purpose of this report is to propose a strategy for the management and development of the Council’s public play areas. 1.2 Consideration is given to: the current operation of the service; the national bench marking exercise that has been carried out; resource issues and funding options. 1.3 The endorsement of a Public Play Areas Strategy will confirm the Council’s commitment to high quality, well managed public play areas as an important community resource for residents and visitors. 2 RECOMMENDATION(S) The Executive agrees: 2.1 to approve the Public Play Areas Strategy laid out in Appendix 2 including: • Approving the Play Space Principles; • Approving in principle the rationalisation of provision laid out in Fair Play; • Commissioning a detailed Council wide plan to be brought back to Committee to finalise the Strategy; • Approving the guidance to the allocation of housing developers’ contributions in line with Fair Play; • Recommending that regeneration areas follow the same principles as are being proposed for the council area in general; • Supporting the application to the Big Lottery for a Play Areas Community Liaison Programme; 2.2 to recommend to Council to agree in principle to establish a four year Capital Programme in line with the proposed Strategy. File Name: N:\DEMSUPP\NewDecisions\Executive\Reports\EX20080212Item07PublicPlayAreasReview.doc 3 CONSIDERATIONS Public Play Areas – service location, management and innovative approach 3.1 Across Scottish local authorities, public play areas are managed in many different ways and by many different services, or combinations of services. However, Stirling Council is unique in both the location of its public play areas service, and in the way in which it is managed. 3.2 Public play areas are located within Children’s Services. The reason for this is the Council’s concept of public play areas as part of a spectrum of community based provision for children, young people, families and carers. Such a concept has at its heart the acknowledgement of the role that good public play areas can play in helping to meet children’s and young people’s developmental needs and right to ‘rest, play and recreation’(as enshrined in The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and adopted by Stirling Council). It also acknowledges the social and communal significance of public play areas for families and carers. 3.3 The Council is unique in that public play areas are managed by one dedicated team that is directly responsible for all aspects of their maintenance (other than litter collection). This includes grounds maintenance and means that each site can be treated holistically and individually. 3.4 The particular location and management arrangements have provided the infrastructure on which Stirling Council’s innovative and now nationally recognised approach has been built (see appendix 3 for details of awards, visits, presentations etc). The principles on which this approach is based are incorporated in the Public Play Areas Strategy (appendix 2). Current funding 3.5 Capital Funding The way in which play areas are funded is laid out in detail in appendix 2. The capital that is available comes in the main part from developers’ contributions associated with new housing developments and also from regeneration budgets and through grant funding accessed by communities themselves and by Play Services. The Council has been very successful and quite innovative in attracting funding in this way and it has allowed for the development of imaginative and challenging play spaces for children. One of the implications of relying on funding from housing development, which is by definition tied to specific localities, is that in areas such as the National Park where new housing development is very restricted, the scope for major refurbishment or renewal of play areas is severely restricted. In terms of access to mainline capital grant the service is allocated £25,000 per annum to cover replacement and major refurbishment of equipment for those areas which cannot access developer contributions. As a consequence of having a limited flexible capital budget there are real and growing problems in ensuring that provision is equitable, and that ongoing and essential small replacement and refurbishment programmes can be carried out. It also means that the task of accessing external grants without any funding to act as leverage is much less effective than it could be. N:\DEMSUPP\NewDecisions\Executive\Reports\EX20080212Item07PublicPlayAreasReview.doc Review of existing play area provision 3.6 The Council has 98 public play areas including 3 skateparks and some informal ball games areas (all pitches and most ‘multi court’ areas are the responsibility of Community Services or Active Stirling). Play areas range from small backcourt and street corner areas to neighbourhood facilities offering a wide range of play and informal recreational opportunities. Appendix 1 lists all the areas. Datasets and maps are in progress. 3.7 Appendix 2 sets out in Fair Play a proposal for the rationalisation of provision over a five year period that if adopted would ensure that the Council achieves as equitable distribution of high quality provision as possible. The framework for this would be: • Approximately one good quality play area offering a range of play and informal sports provision per 2500 – 3500 population in urban areas. These areas will not necessarily coincide with community council or ward areas, but will relate to where existing good or potentially good provision is and the surrounding residential patterns. • One good quality play area offering an appropriate range of play and informal sports provision per rural settlement. • Kings Park and Beechwood to be further developed as Stirling city centre neighbourhood wide provision. • Laighills Park to be developed as Dunblane city centre neighbourhood wide provision. • Informal unequipped recreational space to be retained/created where necessary. 3.8 Adopting the principles above would see an overall reduction in the number of play areas with the potential to free up land which might be used for other purposes. I would also ensure that the remaining areas could be effectively maintained and refurbished. N:\DEMSUPP\NewDecisions\Executive\Reports\EX20080212Item07PublicPlayAreasReview.doc 4 POLICY/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS AND CONSULTATIONS Policy Implications Diversity (age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation) No Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Corporate/Service (corporate plan, service plan, strategic aims, existing Yes policies or strategies, new/amended policy or strategy) Risk Yes Resource Implications Financial Yes People No Other (land, property, electronic etc.) Yes Consultations Internal or External Consultations Yes If the strategy is agreed in principle a detailed play area review will be widely consulted on within the council, and through the Area Planning Forum. POLICY IMPLICATIONS 4.1 Sustainability – These strategic proposals will offer opportunities for the long term sustainability of a smaller number of play areas appropriately located across the council area and not dependant only on housing developers’ contributions. Corporate – The proposals are in line with the corporate plans and in particular meet the commitment to ensure that Stirling is a good place to live. Risk – Failure to rationalise and invest in play areas will lead to random degeneration of sites. RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS 4.2 Financial – The current completed budget for the service is insufficient to meet the needs for refurbishment and/or removal of existing play facilities. The limitations of developer contributions are already highlighted in the report, and the impact on areas which cannot access developer contributions is noted. The service is seeking agreement to an increase of £75,000 on the capital funding on an annual basis for the next four years. This will allow for implementation of the proposals in ‘Fair Play’ and will also act as match funding to the Big Lottery Bid. Other – The proposal in Fair Play will see an overall reduction in the number of play areas across Stirling which may release land resources which could be used for other purposes. CONSULTATION 4.3 If the paper is agreed in principle by Stirling Council it is proposed that consultations will be held with Community Planning Partnership Level on play area proposals relevant in each area. N:\DEMSUPP\NewDecisions\Executive\Reports\EX20080212Item07PublicPlayAreasReview.doc 5 BACKGROUND PAPERS 5.1 Interim Review of Development Advice Note – Play and Informal Recreation Areas 3 November 2006 Open Space Strategy – update on development of a comprehensive Open Space Strategy for Stirling Council 23 January 2007 Public Play Areas Follow Up Research 2007 Research Team Chief Executive’s Office. The above papers will be available in the Members’ Lounge. Stirling Council’s play areas are discussed in a number of books, papers and articles. These can be made available to members if they wish to have more informal consultation. No Fear:Growing Up in Risk-averse Society, Tim Gill and Nils Norman publ. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation 2007 Worth the Risk in UK Landscape Today November 2007 Risky Business, Tim Gill, May 2006, Green Places. Brand New Play, Mike Hyatt, June 2006, Landscape (Journal of Landscape Institute). Case Study of Darnley