The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations, or statements of case received.
The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statements of case received in accordance with Council procedures.
A question and a statement has been received by Mr Simon Thorpe.
Simon Thorpe to ask:
“Can the City Council commit to immediate, constructive dialogue in order to give the City's nine adventure playgrounds the best possible chance of moving towards sustainability?”
Mr Simon Thorpe submitted the below statement:
The Adventure Playgrounds, for Scrutiny Committee
The City’s adventure playgrounds have a long and proud history of serving generations of Leicester’s children and young people. They operate in nine of the most disadvantaged areas and have served communities for over 50 years. Their value as effective grass roots provisions is unquestionable and have been a building block of Leicester social cohesion. The longevity of these projects and the high number of children and young people using them over the decades, results in the overwhelming support we have within the wider community and amongst our professional partners.
Another significant feature of the projects is our extensive age range which, coupled with staff offering support and a sympathetic ear throughout their young lives and often beyond, means that many ex users come back to offer help and support
Amongst our users past and present there is a real sense of pride and passion for respective playgrounds, leading to huge support amongst the city’s population.
Anyone who works with communities and particularly with young people will testify that to be effective, you need to build up relationships based on trust and mutual respect. It took many years for our playgrounds to earn the trust and respect that we have.
If the playgrounds do close so much community work will be lost, anything that comes after will effectively be starting from scratch.
We cannot believe that the City council want this outcome. Our projects are more needed now than ever. There is a genuine urgency at present as Committees have already issued redundancy notices for staff.
We understand the financial predicament that the council are in and the playgrounds have had over two decades of standstill budgets so we know all about cutbacks.
We have effectively been looking in three different directions since notification of withdrawal of funding at the end of this financial year – maintaining our service during the busiest time of year; looking to safeguard committee members over possible liabilities and looking for funding and alternative income streams.
In order for the playgrounds to transition away from council funding we require more time and better tenure of the buildings. We have made a lot of progress in a short amount of time. We have a lot of expertise amongst our staff teams, and we have a team of the best bid writers working for us. What we need is the time for bids to turn around.
We are ever hopeful that the present impasse can be talked through and that together we can find a way that not only secures the playgrounds but allows us to be a springboard to develop a wider usage of the playgrounds to benefit the communities we jointly serve.
We believe this can be achieved by retaining and building a good working relationship with the council.
Minutes:
Mr Stephen Ashley asked:
“Can the City Council commit to immediate, constructive dialogue in order to
give the City's nine adventure playgrounds the best possible chance of moving
towards sustainability?”
The Director of Childrens Social Work and Early Help gave the following response:
“Dialogue between the City Council and the nine adventure playgrounds has been ongoing since January 2024, with a clear focus on the expectations communicated to all nine adventure playgrounds that they work towards business and sustainability plans to become financially self-sufficient.
The report before today’s meeting clearly evidences the extensive support that the adventure playgrounds have been provided with since January 2024, and also clearly communicates the council’s position regarding grant funding ceasing in April 2025 due to the extensive funding pressures it continues to face.”
In responding to the question, officers kept in mind the statement that Mr Ashley had submitted as shown on the agenda.