London Families: Save Battersea Park Adventure Playground
One sunny Sunday afternoon last May, my daughter and I headed over to Battersea Park to play in the Adventure Playground. This was her chosen reward for having completed her homework all month without an argument. She rode her bike, I jogged alongside her thinking how fortunate we were to leave our tiny flat and have an afternoon of fresh air and exercise.
We were both delighted to discover a new installation in the Adventure Playground when we arrived; there was a new structure containing three long ropes to hang on and a circular platform to run around. Children grab hold of one the ropes suspended high above on a spinning axis; they run a little sprint, hold tight, get some air and they sail around laughing and shrieking. The best part of this installation is that the ropes get crossed easily and kids have to work together to figure it out so they can keep flying. I sighed and thought this is the height of London family life: kids getting REAL exercise while engaging and working out problems with kids they do not know of different ages and backgrounds.
The Wandsworth Council is going to refurbish the Battersea Park Adventure Playground to only include equipment that children can use without supervision. Please sign the petition to register your opposition to the closure. Help keep the London legacy of Adventure Playground alive. http://www.wandsworthagainstcuts.co.uk/
Also, check out the article in The Evening Standard regarding Battersea Park Adventure Playground
Save Our Adventure Playgrounds
Sunday Sep 30th will be the last day that Battersea
Park Adventure Playground will be open to the publicWandsworth Council say they are cutting costs, and plan to get rid of all staffing at three adventure playgrounds (also Kimber Road and York Gardens). The wooden structures that the children have helped to build over the years will be pulled down, to be replaced by industrial ones. With the staff gone, this will leave many parents without the option of leaving their children there to be looked after in safety. The Council seemed to have learned nothing from the riots a year ago.
Between now and the 30th we urge you to spread the word of these appalling plans. Also feel free to get in touch with any media contacts you may have, write letters to the papers, contact your local MPs, sign our on-line petition
(at www.wandsworthagainstcuts.co.uk), join our day of action at Battersea Park
on Sat 29th, or if you wish you could join us with our campaigning.
After all, these are our services that are being given away.If you have any ideas, please contact us at
[email protected]
Thank you
I’ve just watched the video made by Sandra Munoz about why this playground is so important. I’m completely shocked that - in a time when we desperately need kids to have safe outdoor places to learn and play and be active - the council wants to save a paltry sum by closing this down. It won’t save money in the longrun - it’ll probably mean the kids will get into more trouble, then it’ll be police time and courts and jails being paid for, not teachers and artists. This is soooo obvious. And tragic. Please, Wandsworth council, this would be a great time to do a U-turn. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFIpiCDiV0w&feature=youtu.be)