The cutting by government of the Playbuilder scheme,
launched 2 years ago and from which Haringey received a million pounds in April 2009, has meant that many new playgrounds have been
scaled back or axed
I dropped a line to cabinet member for Children's Services, Lorna Reith, asking if any schemes are affected here in Haringey. Sadly, its bad news. Although she did not give me details, she did confirm that some schemes will suffer.
Lorna Reith's response from the 12th August was as follows:
Yes it will. A couple of weeks ago we were asked by Govt for information about our current Playbuilder schemes which we supplied. We were told there was a national review and expected to hear the result at the end of this month. It appears the govt may already have made it’s decision about ending the scheme.
A letter is being sent to the Secretary of State by Cllr Dogus (who has the lead on this as the schemes are being developed by our Leisure Services officers) pointing out the need for facilities in the borough and the amount of consultation with local residents which has already taken place. I’m afraid I am not very hopeful that this will make any difference.
Has anyone working on a local playscheme been affected so far by this?
Tags for Forum Posts: playgrounds, public spending cuts
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