New housing developments in South Holland must provide more equipment for youngsters say councillors

Developers building new housing estates should be ordered to provide more outdoor facilities for youngsters, councillors say.

The topic of open spaces was raised at last Tuesday’s South Holland District Council planning committee meeting, with members concerned kids were being ‘neglected’ in favour of profit margins.

Coun Paul Redgate called on the authority to ensure ‘high quality’ play equipment was installed on new estates for all ages, and that initial promises to provide outdoor facilities don’t get swept under the carpet during the planning and building processes.

“I do worry the maintenance and the looking after of these public play areas that go on these sites that are marked in; who’s going to look after it? Is it going to be maintained and, actually, are we going to build it?” he said.

“We’ve seen no end of sites where developers have assured us they’re going to sort it and they just sort of vanish with a reserved matter.

“If they’re putting them on I want to make sure we don’t have them removed, and they’re a good quality, and there’s something there for the younger people who will be living in these areas.

“We’re neglecting them and we need developers to put stuff on for all ages, from toddler up to teenagers. We can’t just have them stick a slide on it.”

Coun Redgate continued: “If developers are putting these things in they’re putting in high quality and enough variation that satisfies age groups, that there’s something for kids of all ages to do.

“if it means putting up a goalpost or whatever, something to keep them active.

“We’ve taken our eye off the ball with open spaces and I think it’s right we put it back on the agenda with full force.”

Coun Christopher Brewis called on SHDC to ensure play areas were fully installed before developers were allowed to complete building homes.

“The business to do with play areas and community things in estates, I can’t understand why we can’t put our foot down and say they will be in a fit to use state after a number of dwellings are completed, which wouldn’t be all-but-one but somewhere around halfway,” he said.

Coun Bryan Alcock questioned how well sites that had been constructed were being maintained, following recent site visits by the committee.

“The authority needs to revisit this business of open space on-site maintenance companies, because they patently, in some incidents, don’t work,” he said.

“Now that these management companies are becoming a saleable commodity they’re traded, one wonders how we’re ever going to enforce.

“As I understand it its virtually impossible to enforce against the management company as it’s their discretion, I suspect, as to how much they choose to do to maintain their sites.

“If there’s a problem, who’s door are they (residents) going to knock on? Our door.

“It would behold the authority to think this through as there’s been incidents where it’s been simmering for a while.

“On the trot around the district that we did recently, it’s patently obvious some of them don’t work.”