Time to take play seriously!

We joined forces with phenomenal colleagues including Playing Out, Tim Gill and Dinah Bornat of ZCD Architects Ltd a year ago to call for a Select Committee Inquiry into children, young people and the built environment. The response was overwhelming, and the evidence sessions stimulated great debate and prompted hopes of some significant recommendations and actions that were then derailed by the General Election. 
 
Determined not to lose the momentum and with fantastic support from Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) the insights from over 130 individuals and organisations who submitted evidence can now be read in a new report.  

We have been jointly calling for urgent changes to national policy and practice to prioritise the creation of child-friendly places, spaces and communities. Over 2 million children don’t have access to places to play close to where they live. The consistent failure to prioritise children’s needs and voices in relation to the built environment has resulted in places that do not offer opportunities for children to be an active part of their communities. The political will to raising the healthiest generation that ever lived creates a fantastic platform to reverse this position and ensure that our children and young people have access to space they need to learn, play, grow and thrive.

Claridge Way, Thamesmead, London. © Jan Kattein Architects

The report draws out key recommendations for Government Ministers and Departments including;

• Establishing national leadership for children and young people's wellbeing.
• Enhancing access to nature and green spaces where children and young people feel welcome.
• Prioritising opportunities for play.

It was great to join a huge range of partners at the report launch in the House of Lords all sharing the ambition to prioritise the needs of children in planning, building and urban design.  This is an opportunity not to be missed.