Agenda item

The Assistant Director for Planning, Leisure and Culture Services presented a report on the Inclusive Play Policy Statement.

The purpose of the report was to set out proposals for installing inclusive play equipment at play areas across the Borough. Officers explained that two parks in Redditch had been identified as having the greatest potential to meet inclusive play requirements. Arrow Valley Country Park already benefitted from good access arrangements, including pathways, car parking and accessible toilet provision. Morton Stanley Park similarly offered facilities that made it a strong candidate for seeking Plan Inclusive Play Areas (PiPA) accreditation. It was, however, acknowledged that Morton Stanley Park was unlikely to achieve full PiPA accreditation, although every effort would be made to secure the highest standard possible for the site.

The distinctions between ‘accessible’ and ‘inclusive’ play spaces were highlighted, with it being noted that that inclusive play extended provision to meet the needs of children with a wide range of abilities and requirements.

Members were advised that, for all other outdoor equipped play areas, the Council would seek to improve accessibility and inclusivity through use of an Inclusive Play Policy Assessment and Design Checklist. Play companies and contractors would be required to propose improvements using this checklist to ensure the highest achievable level of inclusivity.

Officers informed Members that funding had been allocated and proposed for the purpose of enhancing play areas to make them more accessible and inclusive. The recommendations sought delegated authority for the Assistant Director for Planning, Leisure and Culture Services to pursue the appropriate level of accreditation and to implement the new plans.

Members were advised that learning from the work at Arrow Valley Country Park and Morton Stanley Park would be applied to other outdoor play areas across the Borough, with the intention that even smaller local parks should include some equipment accessible to children with differing needs.

Following the presentation, Members had detailed discussion and commented on the following points:

• Thanks were expressed to the Leisure and Parks team for their work in producing the report.
• Members welcomed the policy, noting that play was essential for children and that many families had requested accessible equipment in local parks. Members were therefore pleased that the policy would support such provision.
• Members were pleased with the focus on inclusive rather than solely accessible play, recognising that this represented a more comprehensive approach to meeting all children’s needs and ensuring barrier?free play environments.
• It was noted that the policy provided a clear and detailed explanation of how the proposals had been assessed against equality impact criteria.

RESOLVED that

1) the Inclusive Play Policy Statement be adopted;

2) the detailed audit of play provision at Arrow Valley Country Park (against the Plan Inclusive Play Areas [PiPA] accreditation criteria/checklist) be approved;

3) the proposals for Arrow Valley Country Park improvements will be implemented during 2026/27 and strategic and local sites by April 2028;

4) subject to completion of resolution 3 above, authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Planning, Leisure and Culture Services to apply for accreditation for the Arrow Valley Country Park play area against the PiPA standard;

5) authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Planning, Leisure and Culture Services to develop plans to make the play space in Arrow Valley Country Park a Borough wide exemplar for accessible and inclusive play;

6) authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Planning, Leisure and Culture to commission an assessment of Morton Stanley Park against the PiPA standard, which should include establishing the viability of gaining accreditation;

7) the Inclusive Play Policy Assessment and Design Checklist be approved as a tool for improving the accessibility and inclusivity of all other play areas in the Borough; and

8) To NOTE that a budget bid of £300,000 in the capital programme was approved by Council in March 2026 as part of the Medium Term Financial Plan 2026/27 to 2028/29 to pay for inclusive play improvements and for additional officer support.