£500 fine if children climb park trees or fly ‘nuisance’ kites
KILLJOY council bosses faced outrage last night over plans to hand out £500 fines for climbing trees in parks and flying kits “annoyingly”.
Other innocent childhood pursuits, including knockabout games of football and cricket and playing with model boats and planes, will also be outlawed in open areas.
Even using metal detectors will be banned under the proposals along with a range of activities considered “annoying” to others.
Bossy officials in Wandsworth, south-west London, vote next week on plans to tear up bylaws for pleasure grounds, public walks and open spaces which have been in place since 1924.
The 49 new diktats targeting childhood fun will be enforced by civilian park police dressed similar to frontline Metropolitan Police officers, with stab vests, handcuffs and body cameras.
The new rules state that “no person” shall climb any tree “without reasonable excuse”.
Furious
Kite-flying will not be banned but fines of up to £500 could be handed out if they are flown “in such a manner as to cause danger or give reasonable grounds for annoyance to any other person”.
Yesterday furious parents in the borough and politicians hit out at the plans.
Gemma Fountain, 30, regularly visits Battersea Park with her two children.
She said: “I want them to do what they like. The idea that they couldn’t climb trees or fly a kite is terrible. My kids would not be able to come to the park and enjoy themselves.”
Michael O’Dwyer, 68, said: “Councils are too intrusive into people’s lives.
“There is no rhyme or reason to stopping people from climbing the trees or playing a game of cricket.”
The London Play charity said the regulations sent out a “no childhoods allowed” message.
Director Paul Hocker said: “Play is now more important than ever to children’s health but they need places to play free and freely and this is under threat.”
Local Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan said: “We need a common sense approach to this, or bureaucracy could very easily get in the way of friendly fun.
“Friends said they were stopped from playing football on Tooting Common because they didn’t have permission.
“They were using coats as goalposts and common sense tells me this was harmless fun.”
A Wandsworth Council spokesman said: “We consulted local people and 87 per cent were in favour of the new bylaws’ introduction, as were the police.
“We can deal properly with bad behaviour that damages our parks and causes upset.”