Children are squeezed out as cutbacks diminish public space

Perhaps the rawest, purest expression of the importance of public space to growing up, however, is found in children's play. Supervised play areas targeted for cuts could turn into disrepair and slabs of wasteland. Non-staffed park playgrounds might be more resilient to cuts but unless maintained become a health and safety risk, disused and vandalised.

Most significantly, the Department for Education last week confirmed it would not renew its contract with Play England, in effect terminating the previous government's 10-year national play strategy for which the organisation was delivery partner. The strategy's short-term commitment, a £235m capital programme to refurbish and modernise play spaces, is largely complete. In the longer term, the strategy had set out to transform public spaces to be more available and accessible to children by getting the buy-in of planners, designers and highways engineers at local level. Unlike the capital programme, this was less a matter of immediate investment and more a matter of strategic collaboration and civic will. The idea was to end our culture in which teenagers are policed out of public space and young children are protected from it. Physical exercise and social interaction contribute to a healthy, happy childhood. No argument. That vision has now been kicked into touch.