Campaign to Improve Play Facilities in Handsworth Park

Hello & Some Background: July 2006
This blog is here to record and communicate our experiences as a group of people concerned about the quality and quantity of play facilities in Handsworth Park. The group came about as a consequence of the recent refurbishment of Handworth Park. The money for this refurbishment came from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the principle behind the project was the restoration of the park as a Victorian park. New railings, the resurfacing of pathways, lots of replanting, the restoration of the bandstand and the Sons of Rest building, the dredging of the lake and the construction of a boathouse have all taken place. The Park has been transformed.

Unfortunately, as parents with children, we also experienced less pleasing changes. The original play area that we were using on a weekly (or more) basis was ripped up (in March 2006). It wasn't until May 2006 that the new play area was opened for our children's use.

As the amount spent on the overall refurbishment is known to be in the region of £8 million, we were expecting state of the art play equipment, a tangible improvement on what had been there before. Some of us visited other play facilities (see gallery) and saw what was possible. When the new play facilities were in place, we were mystified and disappointed. How was it possible to spend so much on walls, railings, bandstand refurbishment and pathways and see play facilities as not much more than an add on? This is a park, after all.

We were also concerned that the new facilities for the young people (11-18: they need play equipment too!) was limited to a set of swings and a Multi Use Games Area. Furthermore, these facilities were at some distance from the other play area (a railed compound for toddlers - 8yrs). Somewhere in the middle, the pre-teens had been left out entirely (the planners claimed the railed compound was designed to cater for 3-12 yrs olds!).

Starting with a series of emails (see other July postings)complaining to the relevant City Council officers, we established that there was no more money for additional play facilities.

This led to the formation of our group of parents and children who aim to campaign for more and better play facilities.

Actions

• So far we have held an inaugural meeting of the group. The minutes are available on this blog (under July postings.
• There has been quite a lot of correspondence which you can also look at.
• Some of us have also attended advice surgeries with our local councillors to gain their support.
• Handsworth Park Association has also been alerted to our concerns and they are in support of our campaign.

The Way Forward
From our contact with Council Officers, it seems that the way forward is for the group to set up as a Community Group and through the agency of the Council, to access funds that are available by putting together a bid.
As a starting point, we have asked the Parks Dept to provide us with documentation relating to the Consultation exercise that was carried out prior to the recent refurbishment. We are determined that children and young people are consulted fully and effectively about any additional play facilities.
The challenge is to come up with innovative ideas that meet the needs of children and young people while also meeting the requirements of the funding bodies we will be applying to.

Anyway, this is the starting point and the story so far. The refurbished Park is being officially opened this Saturday (8th July 2006). We realise that the campaign is likely to require stamina. But we are not going anywhere! We aim to use this blog as a communication resource, a repository (of correspondence etc) and a campaigning tool.

We invite your comments.....