Croydon council under fire for rejecting play street proposal

The proposal, which was submitted to Croydon council by local residents and supported by London Play, called for a Sunday street play scheme to be trialled in South Vale, Upper Norwood.

But in a letter to London Play, Croydon's head of highways Steve Iles dismissed the idea saying it would cause too much disruption to local traffic. He warned that the plans to close the road to traffic would have “safety implications for nearby roads”.

Dave Miller, a member of the South Vale residents’ steering group that was behind the proposal, said the majority of residents were in favour of the plans.

“The attitude of the council is very much that streets are for cars and parks are for children,” he said. “All we were proposing was for residents taking it turns at either end to explain the situation to motorists. It wouldn’t have cost anything and provides a place for children to play safely.”

Dr Ute Navidi, regional vice-president of the International Play Association, criticised Croydon’s stance.

She said: “This goes against current government thinking of empowering local people and I would hope the council listens to local people and be more supportive of helping children play outside.”

Catherine Prisk, director of Play England, added: “The advice from government and the Local Government Association is that councils should be making it easier for local people to organise activities in their street.”

Croydon’s decision comes as another London borough, Hackney, is looking to pilot a street play initiative with local residents. Hackney council is considering using the 1938 Streets Playgrounds Act to restrict traffic in streets designated as “play streets”.

This legislation was used widely during the 1950s and 1960s, when as many as 750 play streets were in operation nationally at one time.

Prisk said: “As well as the Street Playgrounds Bill, councils can have temporary street play orders and organise street parties. In Croydon they have rejected this yet at the same time in Hackney you have a council and local residents working hard to create a better street environment for children to play. It is a no or low cost initiative.”

London Play is also hoping to introduce play streets in Islington, Haringey, Waltham Forest and Lewisham.

London Play chair Melian Mansfield said: “As one of the five Olympic host boroughs, Hackney is to be applauded for taking this initiative which will be seen to benefit children and their communities in many different ways.

“We hope that other boroughs will follow suit and help make London a city where children are truly able to play freely and safely outdoors.”

Hackney’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, Feryal Demirci, said: "As an inner London borough, we think it’s important to give children as many opportunities to play outside as possible, so we’re keen to look into this opportunity.

A spokeswoman for Croydon council argued that the decision was made by the highways department "on grounds of practicality and safety".

“It should also be pointed out that there are a number of parks and open spaces in the vicinity where children can play safely," she said. "The council is not opposed to street play and would review each application on a road-by-road basis."