Splendid news concerning Broadstone Playbuilder

Roy,

Please accept my apology for the delay in replying to your first email, it's rather a busy time of year trying to complete the first eleven sites and arrange the official openings etc.

As you may be aware Play Builder is a government funded scheme from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (Dcsf) to improve play areas specifically for the eight to thirteen age group. They have appointed Play England to facilitate the works with whom we work very closely. The grant of £1.1 million pounds is to improve twenty two play areas across the borough which have been split in to two years of eleven sites; all works have to be completed by March 31st 2011.

We have set up an officer working group from across all the relevant service units in the Council including the Children's Play Champion for Poole, Councillor Tony Woodcock, and officers from Children's and Young People’s Integrated Services(CYPIS), Legal Services, Financial Services and Leisure Services who are leading the project. This include organising most of the works and designing some of the sites. This group meets on a monthly basis to monitor how the works are progressing and to discuss any issues etc and monitors the progress of the work on each site.

This group also chose the sites for both year one and year two programmes. They were chosen from the existing play area across the borough using a set of agreed criteria including their existing play value and location to areas of social deprivation and need for improvement for the target age group.

Broadstone Recreation Ground's play area is full of equipment and as such any extra items will have to be placed outside, but close to the existing play area. We have taken an initial look at the site and are considering the use of the old play areas for the new equipment; however this will depend largely on what the children tell us from our consultations in Broadstone Middle School.

The wide ranging consultation programme which worked extremely well in the first year will involve members of CYPIS. They have already started this process and have set up a forum with the children to consider the types of play experiences they would like to see at Broadstone Recreation Ground.

In addition, a representative of Leisure Services will attend the local area committee and any safer neighbourhood meetings and/or resident meetings to explain the scheme and ask Ward Councillors and residents for their comments. A leaflet drop will be organised to local residents within the local area and details of the proposed scheme will be on the borough's website.

This consultation programme ensures that children, parents and residents from the local area are heavily involved in the equipment choice and design for each play area making it individual to each area.

The first five of this year's eleven play areas which have been officially opened this year have been a great success with local children. If you require pictures of these opening events please let me know and I will send some to you.

The next round of openings are programmed for Friday 9th April when we will open Alexandra Park, Uppleby Road and Haskell's Recreation Ground. The final three sites including Lewesdon Drive, Gough Crescent and Oakdale Park will be opened on Friday 16th April.

I will confirm timings of these openings closer to the dates concerned; please feel free to attend any of the openings, we will be putting on some form of entertainment and refreshments at each of the sites.

If I can offer further information or be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Mike Gotobed
Play Development Officer
Greenspace Development Team
Leisure Services
Borough of Poole

EXPLANATORY NOTE
Playbuilder schemes provide excellent 'play' areas aimed at youngsters slightly older than the equipment currently available. There will shortly be one at Lewesdon Drive and work will soon commence on the scheme in Broadstone Rec.

Please see the following for more info.
http://www.poole.gov.uk/go.php