ASSOCIATION OF PLAY INDUSTRIES - Public Play Facilities

The request was successful.

Dear Worthing Borough Council,

2 years ago, we were hearing from our members that installations of new playground equipment were falling in England and that this was due directly to a lack of funding within local authorities. This worried us and our members at a time when Childhood obesity is increasing and there are more instances of divided communities. In order to quantify what was happening we commissioned a report which resulted in our #nowheretoplay campaign highlighting the extent of the problem. We believe it is now time to refresh our information and to once again highlight to government the problems resulting from a reduction in children’s play facilities. We would therefore urge you to support us in the FOI request.

1. How many public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) do you currently have available to the public in your LA area?

2. What was your total budget for public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each of the following years?

• 2016-17
• 2017-18

3. What is your expected total budget for public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each of the following years?

• 2018-19
• 2019-20
• 2020-21

4. How many public playgrounds and play facilities were closed in your LA area and what proportion of your total play facilities did this represent, in each of the following years?

• 2016-17
• 2017-18

5. How many public playgrounds and play facilities do you expect will close and what proportion of your total play facilities will this represent, in each of the following years?

• 2018-19
• 2019-20
• 2020-21

Data to be collated into excel spreadsheet.

Yours faithfully,

Samuel Lubrano

Worthing Borough Council

Hi

We have recently received a request for information and allocated it the
reference FOI/862049/2018. Please quote this in any correspondance in
relation to this matter. 

For your information, this is what you requested:

2 years ago, we were hearing from our members that installations of new
playground equipment were falling in England and that this was due
directly to a lack of funding within local authorities. This worried us
and our members at a time when Childhood obesity is increasing and there
are more instances of divided communities. In order to quantify what was
happening we commissioned a report which resulted in our #nowheretoplay
campaign highlighting the extent of the problem. We believe it is now time
to refresh our information and to once again highlight to government the
problems resulting from a reduction in children’s play facilities. We
would therefore urge you to support us in the FOI request.

1.      How many public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure
playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) do you currently have available to the
public in your LA area?

2.      What was your total budget for public play facilities (including
playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each of the
following years?
•       2016-17
•       2017-18

3.      What is your expected total budget for public play facilities
(including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each
of the following years? 
•       2018-19
•       2019-20
•       2020-21

4.      How many public playgrounds and play facilities were closed in
your LA area and what proportion of your total play facilities did this
represent, in each of the following years?
•       2016-17
•       2017-18

5.      How many public playgrounds and play facilities do you expect will
close and what proportion of your total play facilities will this
represent, in each of the following years?
•       2018-19
•       2019-20
•       2020-21

You should expect to hear from us within 20 working days.

If we are are not able to provide the information, we will tell you why. 

Yours Sincerely,
Adur and Worthing Councils

Worthing Borough Council

Dear Samuel Lubrano

Thank you for your request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
Please find below the Worthing Borough Council's response to your request
for information.

1. How many public play facilities (including playgrounds, adventure
playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) do you currently have available to the
public in your LA area?
- The information you have requested is available to view from the secure
link below. When you have clicked on the link, the documents can be found
at the foot of the page and can be accessed by clicking the green download
button on the screen.

2. What was your total budget for public play facilities (including
playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each of the
following years?
We do not hold separate budgets for play areas, and as such our total
budgets quoted cover Parks, Recreation Grounds and Open Spaces budgets.
The total revenue budgets in 2016/17, 2017/18 & 2018/19 for Parks,
Recreation Grounds and Open Spaces, are shown below and are published in
final accounts for each year. This information is also publicly available
on the Council's website here:
https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/about-t...
• 2016-17 = £1,649,170
• 2017-18 = £1,627,510
• 2018-19 = £1,702,410

3. What is your expected total budget for public play facilities
(including playgrounds, adventure playgrounds, skate parks, etc.) in each
of the following years?
• 2018-19
• 2019-20
• 2020-21
- The figure in Q2 also includes the budget for Public Play Facilities.
Please note revenue budgets for 2020/21 have yet to be finalised so we do
not have this information to provide.

In addition to this, we have a capital programme of investment in play
areas, which can be summarised as follows:
• 2016-17 = £201,400
• 2017-18 = £388,920
• 2018-19 = £120,800
• 2019-20 = £138,130
• 2020-21 = £80,000

4. How many public playgrounds and play facilities were closed in your LA
area and what proportion of your total play facilities did this represent,
in each of the following years?
• 2016-17 = None, 0%
• 2017-18 = None, 0%

5. How many public playgrounds and play facilities do you expect will
close and what proportion of your total play facilities will this
represent, in each of the following years?
• 2018-19
• 2019-20
• 2020-21
There are presently no plans to close any play area in the years listed.

We hope this assists you and apologise for the delay in our reply.

If you are not satisfied with the response to your request for information
you have the right to an internal review. Details can be found on :
 [1]http://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/about-th...

If there are any, you can download any files / data using this link:

[2]Secure link to response files

Yours sincerely

Information Officer | Adur & Worthing Councils

Email: [Worthing Borough Council request email] | Website:
[3]www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/about-the-councils/legal/foi/

 

References

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