£2m boost to put fun back in city play parks
EVERY play park in Newcastle is set to be upgraded under a new £2m investment plan.
Newcastle City Council has set out proposals to improve more than 160 outdoor play spaces across the city – including traditional playgrounds, green spaces, games areas, and sports courts.
A rolling programme of upgrades is expected to take three years to complete, with the most in-need communities given priority based on factors including childhood obesity and ease of access to other play parks.
Coun Kim McGuinness, cabinet member for Culture, Sport and Public Health said: “I am thrilled to announce this huge amount of investment and improvement in play spaces across the city.
“Providing high quality, adaptable play spaces that allow children and young people to socialise, be active and creative will help improve their physical health and mental wellbeing.
“I am really pleased that we can create vibrant, modern play spaces that will have benefit for children, young people and families in their communities.”
The local authority’s cabinet was asked to approve the new ‘Play Space Plan’ and use it as the framework for investment decisions at a meeting yesterday.
The project will be funded through profits from the council’s stake in Newcastle Airport – as previously announced in March – alongside newly allocated cash from Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) agreements secured from developers.
The city’s Lib
Dem opposition leader has welcomed the investment, but said that communities being affected by new housing estates should reap the benefits of payments from developers rather than seeing that cash redistributed across Newcastle. Coun Anita Lower said: “I am glad that the council has decided to invest more money and cover all of the play parks in the city.
“In my ward we have a park which is in desperate need of work because it is in a terrible state, but we didn’t know previously whether it would receive any support.
“£2m does sound like a lot of money, but spread across all of the city I wonder if it might be too little, too late.
“It is a shame that the parks have been left to deteriorate to the point where we need this investment.
“If CIL money is being used then the council should be aware of the communities bearing the brunt of the new-builds and make sure that they don’t lose out.”
A total of 51 of the 160 spaces sit in the city’s parks, with the remaining areas dotted around communities, streets and residential areas.
A council report has pinpointed Blakelaw, Elswick, Walker, and Walkergate as the wards with the highest levels of childhood obesity, with areas in the south of the city also suffering from the highest levels of child deprivation.
Further details of the project, including the specific budget, will be presented to the cabinet in January 2019.
I am really pleased that we can create vibrant, modern play spaces that will have benefit for children