Playbuilder 2010 - Latest News

As a result of the Playbuilder Initiative in York there are now 11 new and refurbished play areas across the city. These are in both parishes and within the city wards. The 11 are;

• Elvington
• Naburn
• Skelton
• Huntington
• Bishopthorpe
• Back Park/Holgate
• Viking Park/Acomb
• Foxwood Lane/Westfield
• Sowerby Road/Holgate
• Ashton Avenue/Clifton
• Barfield Road/Heworth

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in consultations so far. Your feedback has made a real impact on the development of the play areas.

A representative from a York Primary school who organised the opening of one of the new play areas said of the new playground near there school said

Finished Playbuilder Play Areas

The play area at Naburn was officially opened on Friday 9th of October at 3.30pm. It was the second of the 22 to be finished. The Opening event was a resounding success and the play area has been well used since the opening.

On the 22 July, York’s first Playbuilder at Elvington was formally opened by the Lord Mayor along with children, young people and families from the local community.

The Playbuilder project officer is Beth Cooper. You can contact Beth at beth.cooper@york.gov.uk or on 07920466458.

York's Lord Mayor opens Elvington play area
On the 9th of October Naburn became the second play area to open through the Playbuilder project.

Playbuilder Further Information

City of York Council has been allocated around £1 million from the Government Playbuilder Project, for the development approximately 22 play areas across the city.

The Playbuilder programme is investing £235 million nationally as part of the Government’s commitment to the play agenda, along with the launch of the recent national Play Strategy and Children’s Plan.

As you may well know York has had a growing focus on the importance of play for a number of years and this new funding will provide greater access to higher quality outdoor play areas. This will directly link into York’s play strategy ‘Taking Play Forward’, and assist in our aim to raise the standard of play provision.

For the National perspective on Playbuilder, please log on to the Play England website.

Conditions

The grant comes with a stringent monitoring regime from the Department for Children Schools and Families, which is being undertaken, by the regional office of Play England. This is to ensure that play sites:

• Have are open access, outdoor play spaces close to where children live that are safe, exciting, stimulating.
• Are accessible to all,
• Promote active, imaginative and adventurous play in—other words we cannot install typical swings and roundabouts
• Are built predominately for the 8–13 year age range
• Are developed in consultation and in participation with local children and young people, families, community representatives: and
• 11 sites are developed each year
• All necessary approvals are in place e.g. planning permission

Financial allocation

Each site in year 1 has been provisionally allocated £47,000
Each site in year 2 has been provisionally allocated between £47,000 and £53,000

The different between the two figures is down to the amount of government funding in each year. It is envisaged that some sites may have slightly more, others slightly less as site conditions dictate. The funding has to cover all costs e.g. professional fees, landscaping, equipment. If additional funding is available in the area this can be added to the government grant to increase the amount of play opportunity provided.

Playbuilder Project Background

After inviting suggestions for suitable sites for new play areas to be built, or the names of existing ones, which would benefit from improvement or development. We received a very positive response with nominations coming in from a wide range of sources including Local Councils, City of York Councillors, members of the public and community groups.

This information was fed into a wider analysis of the city’s play needs as identified through the recently published PPG17 Planning for Open Spaces, Sport and Recreation audit, as well as feedback from consultation recently carried out in preparation for the new Children and Young People’s Plan.

Due to the conditions of the Playbuilder grant, and the selection criteria, not all sites suggested were able to receive funding. After taking all factors into account the steering group came up with a provisional list of sites, which is provided above. The selection of sites has been managed by a multi agency steering group representing the Council including - play, parks, young peoples service, city development, and neighbourhood management, North Yorkshire police and CVS. The Executive Member for Children and Young People’s Services attends steering group meetings in an advisory and oversight capacity.

Under the Council's new constitutional arrangements the final decision on which sites were allocated funding was made by the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion on 9 June 2009.