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Let children play in car parks, say health chiefs after hundreds of school sports fields are axed
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by Paul Conneally | August 23, 2008 at 12:33 am
323 views | 27 Recommendations | 5 comments
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The selling off of public playing fields for housing development has been and continues to be a hot potato for the British Government which more than 5 years ago committed itself to halting the practice. It has continued apace and now we have health chiefs trying to tackle childhood obesity urging for the use of car parks for children to play in. Before opening the car parks lets get the school playing fields that do exist open after school hours. Most schools close their gates after school and deny access, to fantastic and sometimes the only, playing fields around leaving children to hang around street corners. Some kids climb over the heavily spiked fences to kick a ball around, risking injury and possible prosecution for trespass. Britain might have had its best Olympics ever but it also has a high and rising rate of child obesity. Just opening up what are after all publicly owned spaces, such as school fields, might at least encourage more kids to play unorganised and maybe move into organised sport and field games in the open air and help tackle obesity too. The value of informal self-organised childrens' games and sport should not be underestimated.
Youngsters will be encouraged to play in office car parks outside work hours under proposals to tackle childhood obesity.
Government health advisers are calling on local councils to use 'non-traditional settings' to raise children's activity levels.
But the proposed guidelines caused anger last night because they follow the sell-off of dozens of school and community playing fields.
Around 200 full-size fields have been lost in the past decade and dozens more smaller grounds deemed too small or the wrong shape.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the NHS drug rationing watchdog, has developed a number of recommendations for increasing physical activity among children. It also has a role in promoting public health. It wants school fields opened before and after school and during weekends and holidays.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 00:49 on August 23rd, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff. I guess the only winners then are the guys in White Vans looking for Lost Puppies.
at 05:53 on August 23rd, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff. If I had kids, I'd rather see them climb a fence to play in a park than be forced to play in a parking lot.
at 06:31 on August 23rd, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
This post needs to get some serious attention here!
at 07:12 on August 23rd, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Interesting, but i think in wrong channel.
at 17:03 on August 23rd, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff. When so many areas in Britain are bleak, paved over places, what were the authorities thinking to sell off what little play areas the kids had. I can't imagine business owners encouraging children to play in the car parks. Think of the insurance liability. It does make it easier, as Barry says, for the fellows looking for their lost puppies, when kiddies are just hanging out on the street corners.