Hundreds of children’s playgrounds have been closed or are being closed by cost-cutting local authorities across England, with councils blaming “unprecedented budget constraints” for the decision to get rid of parks and sports facilities.
A series of freedom of information requests to local authorities found that 112 playgrounds were closed in the 2014-15 financial year, and a further 102 in 2015-16.
Councils also revealed that they had 80 more closures in 2016-17, followed by plans for 103 in the current budget period and at least 51 closures planned for 2018.
But the more recent figures most likely understate the number of closures, because around a third of councils said they had not yet finalised their plans, according to the Association of Play Industries, which submitted the FOI requests.
Mark Hardy, chair of the API, said that government investment of around £100m would be required to reverse the trend in closures.
“With increasing childhood obesity and the health benefits of activity and play well known, now is not the time for community playgrounds to be closing. This action goes against the government’s clear intention to get children more active and needs to be stopped as quickly as possible,” Hardy said.
Gary Porter, the Conservative chair of the Local Government Association, said councils “want to do everything they can keep our parks and playgrounds intact but are doing this in the face of unprecedented budget constraints.
“Given ongoing funding reductions, many councils continue to have to make difficult decisions about which services are scaled back or stopped altogether. Decisions like this are never taken lightly and councils are exploring new ways to fund and maintain these facilities.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: “Our historic four-year funding settlement means that councils have almost £200bn to spend over the course of this parliament – allowing them to prioritise the services that communities and local people value.”
Hundreds of children"s playgrounds in England close owing to cuts
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