Children and families across Newcastle are set to benefit from around £2 million of investment as the city’s Labour-led council sets out an ambitious plan to improve play spaces across the city.
Newcastle’s new Play Space Plan will guide investment in more than 160 publicly accessible outdoor spaces, ranging from traditional children’s playgrounds to green spaces, multi-use games areas and sports courts.
The three-year programme will see every play space receive some level of investment, while directing the greatest improvements towards communities where better facilities can make the biggest difference.
Labour wants children and young people across Newcastle to have opportunities to play, exercise and spend time outdoors regardless of where they live or their family’s circumstances.
To help determine where investment should be prioritised, the council will consider local evidence including levels of childhood obesity, the number of children and young people living in an area and access to existing play facilities.
This will allow investment to be targeted towards communities with the greatest need rather than simply replacing equipment on a like-for-like basis.
The programme will look beyond traditional playgrounds, recognising that children and young people use a much wider range of outdoor spaces for play and recreation.
Investment could therefore include improvements to green spaces, sports courts and multi-use games areas alongside new and upgraded playground equipment.
The council will also use Community Infrastructure Levy funding to support improvements to green spaces and children’s play facilities, helping investment from new development deliver benefits for communities.
The Play Space Plan forms part of Labour’s wider commitment to improving neighbourhoods and tackling inequalities in health and opportunity across Newcastle.
By investing in accessible outdoor spaces, the council wants to encourage more children and young people to be active, spend time outdoors and enjoy safe places to meet and play.
Cllr Kim McGuinness, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Public Health, said: “Every child in Newcastle should have somewhere safe and welcoming where they can play, be active and spend time with their friends.
“Labour is putting around £2 million into improving play spaces across the city and, importantly, we’re using evidence to make sure the greatest investment reaches the communities where it can make the biggest difference.
“This isn’t just about replacing swings and slides. It’s about creating better outdoor spaces, improving children’s health and making sure young people in every part of Newcastle have opportunities to play and be active.
“Over the next three years we want to see improvements right across the city, with communities helping us shape the facilities that work best for their neighbourhoods.”