Child Friendly Upton Provides Framework for UK
A ground-breaking new approach to developing child-friendly
towns and villages throughout the UK was unveiled Friday, December
8 in the former mining community of Upton, near Wakefield.
Children from Upton Primary School joined guests at an event to
mark the launch of the Upton Play Appraisal – a wide-ranging
project involving local people to help Upton become a more
child-friendly village.
The event included the opening of the first new pieces of play
equipment – a zip wire and single point swing for older
children. This will be followed by the installation of new play
equipment at carefully selected locations throughout Upton during
the next 12
months.
The provision of better quality play equipment is one of the
keys to developing more child-centred towns and villages, as part
of a wider programme to enhance the lives of local
communities.
The success of the Play Appraisal in Upton has led to it being
used as a best practice model for a £1 million national
programme enabling communities to be more child friendly –
the Lottery funded ‘Young People Friendly
Neighbourhoods’.
Community engagement underpins the play appraisal process and
Upton, which previously only had two play areas serving a
population of over 6,000 people, is no
exception.
Extensive research was undertaken into the types of play spaces
residents wanted and where they should be sited. It involved
setting up a steering group, issuing a questionnaire to a quarter
of the homes in Upton and holding three public meetings.
Young people also played their part. The first ever Upton Youth
Council gave children the chance to discuss the issues that
mattered most to them and to agree where they wanted the improved
recreational facilities.
In addition, 450 school children attended workshops organised by
Wakefield and District Play Forum to identify areas in the village
where they felt unsafe and where they enjoyed playing.
A spokesman from the Upton & North Elmsall Community Forum,
said giving local people the chance to shape the future of their
play facilities was instrumental to Upton Play Appraisal’s
success, adding that the whole community stood to benefit from the
project.
“Considering the amount of children and young people we
have in our community, the amount of play equipment available to
them is very limited. Over the past two decades the amount of such
equipment has dwindled to almost nothing of any note. As a
community group, we at U.N.E.F welcome any initiative to bring more
investment into the area with regard to recreational facilities for
young people. We hope that the benefits of the Upton Play Appraisal
initiative will be enjoyed by the young people in our area,
promoting a more active lifestyle, and making our villages a better
place in which to live.”
The development of the Play Appraisal also involved Groundwork
Wakefield and Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, with the
support of Sutcliffe Play, the international outdoor play
specialists whose headquarters are in Upton.
Ken Taylor, Executive Director, Groundwork Wakefield, said the
success of the Play Appraisal was due in no small part to the fact
that decisions affecting the local community were made by local
people.
“The needs and views of local people have been the
foundation for the Appraisal. This, coupled with the
invaluable support of U.N.E.F, Sutcliffe Play and WMDC, has placed
play and the needs of young people at the heart of the regeneration
of Upton. The outcome is a unique approach to the provision of Play
that has the potential to be rolled out nationally,” he
said.
Sutcliffe Play has provided £70,000 worth of play
equipment free of charge and Managing Director Robin Sutcliffe is
delighted that the Play Appraisal will encourage people to re-think
how play can impact on regeneration.
“The Play Appraisal demonstrates that play can be an
integral part of community regeneration. The provision of
appropriate play equipment, which meets the needs of children and
their parents and guardians, is a powerful tool. It has been proven
to enrich people’s lives and to bring communities
much closer together and I hope that other locations will approach
the Play Appraisal as eagerly as Upton,” he
commented.
More informaton about Sutcliffe Play can be viewed www.sutcliffeplay.co.uk