CALDERDALE MBC
WARDS AFFECTED: ALL
12
CABINET
19th September 2011
PLAY AREA IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME
Report of the Director for Safer and Stronger Communities
1. Issue
1.1
In April 2011 Cabinet agreed to include £500,000 within the Council’s capital
programme for play area improvements in the Borough over the next 5 years (minute
ref B160/186)
1.2
The Capital Programme Working Party has considered how the money should be
allocated and agreed a Play Area Improvement Programme for recommendation to
Cabinet for approval.
2. Need for a decision
2.1
Cabinet approval is required before resources can be allocated to individual
schemes.
3. Recommendation
3.1
It is recommended that Cabinet approve the Play Area Improvement Programme as
set out in Appendix 1.
4. Background information
4.1
Calderdale Council manages 121 play areas in the Borough. This includes 11
Pennine Housing 2000 sites and 2 Parish Council owned sites.
4.2
Since 2004, 51 play areas across the Borough have been refurbished, funded from a
variety of sources, including Government and National Lottery funding, Parish
Council contributions, Section 106 receipts and CMBC capital. Of this total, 19 were
in the Upper Valley, 13 in the Halifax Central area, 11 in Halifax North and East and 8
in the Lower Valley.
4.3
The resources now included within the capital programme should enable a further 12
sites to be upgraded (based on a rough figure of £40,000 for each site). This level of
funding will support play facility improvements but may not be sufficient to allow for
other site enhancements, such as path upgrades or new fencing. Where possible,
alternative sources of funding (such as those listed above) will be explored to
allow these associated works to take place.
5. Proposals
5.1
Officers have assessed all the play areas which have not benefitted from
improvements in the last 7 years using criteria based on the “4 Cs” of:

Condition - the current state and range of equipment/facilities at the site;

Children - the number of children (aged under 15) in the vicinity/catchment
area (this will vary from 100m to 600m depending upon the size of the facility);

Community - whether there is a community group involved and, importantly,
whether that group is willing and able to seek external funding;

Cost - a value for money evaluation based upon maximising the ‘play value
impact’ of the investment (a site with decent access and sound groundwork
will generate more ‘play value’ for the same money than one where a
significant part of the investment has to be spent on non play-related
infrastructure).
5.2
This analysis has produced the priority listing attached at Appendix 1. The intention
would be to include schemes further down the priority list if resources permit once the
schemes are worked up in detail, or if significant external funding is secured.
However, it is proposed that the 12 sites identified in Appendix 1 should form the
initial Play Area Improvement Programme for 2011 - 2016 in order to avoid creating
expectations that cannot be met.
5.3
The objective would be to deliver at least two schemes this financial year, and then to
follow a rolling programme over the remaining years until the funds are exhausted.
The schemes will be delivered in priority order, though there may be occasions when
a scheme is brought forward for opportunistic reasons, such as if grant funding
becomes available.
5.4
The Capital programme allocation will be used primarily to improve the existing play
facilities, but also to make minor improvements to other elements (access, fencing,
paths etc.) in line with the aspiration of maximising the impact of the Council’s
investment on the ‘play value’ of amenities in the Borough.
5.5
Other play areas will benefit from improvements over the next few years, when, for
example, a group secures external funding or section 106 monies become available
from development in the locality, but the Improvement Programme at Appendix 1 will
be the focus for the Council’s identified capital resources over the next 5 years.
6. Options considered
6.1
Once an allocation for play area improvements is identified then the options involve
deciding which play areas should benefit from these additional resources. This has
been done by a careful assessment of all the unimproved play areas using the
objective criteria set out above.
7. Consultation
7.1
Thorough consultation with local residents, users and Ward Councillors will
take place as part of the process of drawing up detailed improvement schemes for
each of the play areas. This will ensure that the facilities match the needs of young
people and that there are no unintended impacts on the amenity of local residents.
8. Financial implications
8.1
Following the decision of Cabinet on 4th April 2011, £500,000 is now included in the
Council’s Capital Programme for Play Area Improvements. Efforts will be made to
maximise the impact of the Council’s resources by securing external funding through
partnerships with community groups and by seeking other public and private sector
contributions.
9. Equality and Diversity
9.1
The proposed allocation of resources is based upon fair, transparent and objective
criteria that reflect relative need. The aim is to make play opportunities available to
all children, and modified equipment and access improvements will be included in
schemes wherever possible.
10. Contribution to delivering population outcomes
10.1
The provision of good quality play facilities can help to address the Council’s aims
around children and young people and promoting healthier communities.
11. Conclusion
11.1
The resources included within the capital programme offer the opportunity to improve
a number of poor quality play facilities across the Borough, and to draw in further
external resources through partnership working with local communities. The
proposed Improvement Programme has been drawn up to reflect these aspirations.
For further information on this report contact:
Andrew Pitts, Acting Head of Neighbourhoods and Community Engagement
Tel 01422 393264
Email: [email protected]
Documents used in preparation of this report:
Service files
Documents are available for inspection at:
Wesley Court, Halifax
Appendix 1