Agenda item

Progress report for the previously completed Outdoor Play Provision review.

Consideration was given to the assessments of progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the Committee’s previously completed review of Outdoor Play Provision.

Presented by the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Director of Community Services, Environment and Culture, this was the second progress update following the Committee’s approval of the Action Plan in June 2024.  Emphasising that the information being relayed at this meeting demonstrated the value and effectiveness of the scrutiny function, and welcoming the Committee’s previous acknowledgement of the challenges between balancing the creation of new outdoor play sites against the ability to maintain existing areas (potentially impacting upon quality), Members were informed that all statements referring to the new ‘Strategy for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Outdoor Play Provision 2025’, which had been adopted by SBC Cabinet earlier this month, were subject to the recently received call-in regarding that Cabinet decision.  Key developments in relation to the outstanding actions were then highlighted as follows:

·       Recommendation 2 (To encourage a greater sense of community ownership, consideration be given to approaching relevant Town / Parish Councils and the local business community within the vicinity of existing outdoor play spaces to potentially support the development / maintenance of a site): Following Cabinet’s adoption of the full strategy on 16 October 2025, the principle had been established that adoption of sites by Town or Parish Councils would be explored where a site was at risk.  In addition, officers would engage with Town and Parish Councils on an ongoing basis, as time allowed, to determine willingness to provide financial support to maintain / develop play provision in their local area – this recommendation was therefore deemed ‘fully achieved’.

·       Recommendation 5 (Regarding inequality of outdoor play provision across the Borough, SBC clarifies where it is deemed there is little / no provision and possible steps to address these inequalities (including, in exceptional cases, the provision of new play spaces): After a significant amount of analysis (not just through a geographical lens but also from a quality perspective), the strategy document, agreed by Cabinet in October 2025, highlighted areas of inequalities and over-provision.  Following Cabinet’s decision, officers had identified specific sites in which to invest, and others which would be decommissioned at the end of equipment life – this recommendation was therefore deemed ‘fully achieved’.

·       Recommendation 6 (As part of a required rationalisation process in relation to the existing outdoor play offer:

a)    Informed by the recent (March 2024) RoSPA assessments and an analysis of the distribution of existing outdoor play provision, proposals for the removal / repurposing of sites be developed with the aim of reducing pressure on the overall parks budget): On 16 October 2025, Cabinet agreed to 1) approve the full strategy document; 2) approve the site-specific recommendations, subject to financial approvals of the additional £150,000 per annum contained within the 2026-2027 Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) report to be presented in February 2026 (this would enable 23 Council-owned play areas to be prioritised for retention, development or redevelopment, ensuring high maintenance standards and delivering good play value; a further nine play areas would also be retained subject to availability of resources, while 11 sites would be subject to phased decommissioning and repurposing); 3) note the series of additional cross-cutting actions relating to the development, design and management of play provision – this sub-section of the recommendation was therefore deemed ‘fully achieved’.

b)    Complementing sub-section a), SBC undertakes a piece of work around those sites requiring more urgent attention to ascertain costs of either removing the play area or raising it to an appropriate standard): All evidence was collated and used to evaluate the entire play estate (essential information in order to prepare a site-specific recommendation), and following Cabinet’s approval of the full strategy in October 2025, officers could now enact the principles for each site.  It was noted that recommendation 2 stated, ‘That Cabinet approve the site-specific recommendations, subject to financial approvals of the additional £150,000 pa contained within the 2026/27 MTFP report to be presented in February 2026. This would enable 23 Council-owned play areas to be prioritised for retention, development or redevelopment, ensuring high maintenance standards and delivering good play value. A further 9 play areas will also be retained subject to availability of resources, while 11 sites would be subject to phased decommissioning and repurposing’.  As set out above, raising of standards was a principle enshrined in the approved strategy and the decommissioning of the selected sites was informed by the assessment of the current condition.  On that basis, the commitment to either improve the facilities or remove the play equipment had been adopted – this sub-section of the recommendation was therefore deemed ‘fully achieved’.

c)     Further detail be provided around the anticipated longer-term maintenance requirements of the new Stockton waterfront park and the impact that this may have on the available funds for maintaining other existing outdoor play spaces): An allowance for maintenance had always been made.  At the point Esh (lead contractor) were appointed, the play equipment was not designed (but an allowance for delivery and maintenance was made in the budget).  The play equipment sub-contract was competitively tendered and delivered by Timberplay as a sub-contract package for what was a specialist item.  Therefore, the ongoing maintenance of equipment supplied by a specialist sub-contractor sat with the sub-contractor (as the supplier / manufacturer of said equipment) and not the lead contractor.

An allowance of £40,000 had been made within the waterfront project budget for repairs, maintenance and / or spare parts.  Furthermore, an additional sum had been built into the MTFP for the waterfront park grounds maintenance.  As had been referred to in other sections, the new strategy also established the need for a further non-site-specific allocation of £150,000 towards play area maintenance.  The combined effect of these changes was expected to ensure that all play areas could be adequately maintained in future – this sub-section of the recommendation was therefore deemed ‘fully achieved’.

d)    With due regard to the SBC Powering Our Future initiative, appropriate consultation (particularly with Stockton Parent Carer Forum and SBC Ward Councillors) is conducted around any proposed changes to existing outdoor play provision): The need for consultation was embedded in the new strategy.  Consultation with the Parent Carer Forum had occurred already and would continue in relation to future developments and changing circumstances.  The decommissioning process for the identified sites could take several years, so the consultation would be ongoing, but the requirement for that involvement was now fixed (principle 10: When considering the creation of a new play area or the removal of an existing one, we will consult and engage local communities to fully understand the impacts of the change) – this sub-section of the recommendation was therefore deemed ‘fully achieved’.

·       Recommendation 7 (Reflecting the main outcomes from this review, SBC develops and publishes an outdoor play provision strategy which includes the following elements – the Council’s aims in relation to the provision of outdoor play spaces; the locations and assessments of existing and outdoor play provision, as well as any planned developments; the key challenges associated with providing these spaces; how the Council will seek to address these key challenges (including guiding principles); timelines for action and who will be accountable): A new strategy, incorporating the Committee’s stated requirements and reasserting the importance of play, had been developed and then subsequently adopted by Cabinet on 16 October 2025 – this recommendation was therefore deemed ‘fully achieved’.

Welcoming this latest update, the Committee’s initial questions focused upon the new Stockton waterfront park play area, with Members querying whether future maintenance of this particular space was more unpredictable than existing sites across the Borough.  The SBC Director stated that it was difficult to accurately foresee the maintenance requirements for any outdoor play site, and that factors such as vandalism and the weather were far from predictable.  The Council would, however, respond to any identified need, something which had been aided by the commitment to increase the base budget for maintenance of the local outdoor play offer.

With reference to the recent call-in regarding the Cabinet’s decision to adopt the new outdoor play strategy, the Committee observed that the Executive Scrutiny Committee (which, if approved, would consider the call-in) may wish to have sight of the minutes of this meeting.  The SBC Director confirmed that he had spoken with the SBC Director of Corporate Services (who was also the Council’s designated Monitoring Officer) about the duality of this issue and acknowledged the potential need to bring further information to this Committee depending on the outcomes of the call-in request.

When weighing up whether an outdoor play site was no longer functional, the Committee asked if consideration was given to the proximity of the next nearest play area, including any transport links to that space.  Members heard that distance to the next available site was indeed part of the criteria used to make such decisions (as was the age appropriateness of the next nearest play offer), and that whilst the new strategy document did not factor in transport provision to outdoor play sites, any decommissioning proposals required the completion of an impact assessment statement (reflecting appropriate consultation) which would also consider ease of access to alternative play spaces.

The Committee sought confirmation that SBC would look at funding from Town Councils to help support the local play offer.  In response, Members were informed that the new strategy acknowledged the need to involve Town Councils in considerations around existing and potentially future outdoor play provision, though SBC delegating resources to Town Councils was not part of this.

Concluding the item, the Committee highlighted the development of new estates in Yarm and the associated section 106 money that had created so-called ‘doorstep’ play spaces.  The SBC Director noted that section 106-related funding had been addressed within the new strategy, though also reminded Members that this was a planning issue and therefore not within the gift of his directorate to control.  Ultimately, the underlying aim of the strategy was to require and then maintain quality outdoor play sites across the Borough – these smaller ‘doorstep’ offers usually did not have the range of equipment that users of larger sites benefitted from, therefore there was an established need to have less of them.

AGREED that the Outdoor Play Provision progress update be noted, the assessments for progress be confirmed as stated, and, subject to the outcomes of the call-in which had recently been submitted in relation to SBC Cabinet’s decision to adopt the new outdoor play strategy, the Action Plan be signed off as complete (no further updates required).