COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
HEADED ITEM NO.20
HEADED ITEM: P. Realm
Five Year Play Space Programme 2014 - 2018
REPLY:
UPDATE ON THE PLAY SPACE PROGRAMME 2014 - 2018
- The purpose of this report is to review The Five Year Play Space Programme 2014 – 2018 that was approved by the Council at the end of 2013. It is now important to:
- take stock on the implementation of this programme,
- to learn lessons from the implementation programme in 2014,
- to update the newly elected members on the purpose and intent of the programme itself
- to listen to the feedback from the Elected Members
2. Terms - Play Spaces and Playgrounds
We are calling our local play areas “play spaces” rather than playgrounds. We feel that the term playground gives an impression only of a collection of formal play items with safety surfacing in an enclosed area. The word Playground often has a connotation in the minds of residents with anti social activity.
The play spaces will be far more informal, often without formal play equipment or fencing and often not concentrated in one location. They can also be referred to as Natural Play Spaces.
For Neighbourhood and Regional play areas the term playground still applies and they will have a combination of both natural play opportunities and formal equipment.
2.1 Natural Play Spaces - Local
The Council is proposing to build predominantly natural play spaces as part of its playground Construction programme in local areas. Natural Play can be defined as, ‘The freedom to access, explore and engage with the natural environment with the primary purpose of having fun’.
A natural play space is an area where children can play with natural elements such as sand, water, rocks, wood and living plants. There may also be some formal play items.
Today, many children lack the time and opportunity to engage in natural unstructured play. Planned, adult-coordinated activities during and after school, as well as electronic games and television, limit a child's ability to engage in exploration and free expression. Research indicates that this ability, along with access to natural settings, is critical to children's development in every major way: intellectually, emotionally, sociallyand physically. Benefits of increased unstructured free play and access to natural areas include improved concentration & impulse control, emotional coping and stress reduction, stimulation of creativity, reduced symptoms with ADD and ADHD, and improved motor coordination.
Natural play spaces focus on creating settings to enable the type of play most important to our youngest children: social play (pretending) and constructive play (building). Natural Playgrounds encourage children to use their imaginations while simultaneously experiencing the smells, textures and wonders of the natural world. Natural Playgrounds are typically very safe because they include few or no tall structures and no equipment with moving parts. In addition, natural Playgrounds can be relativelyinexpensive to build by usingnatural materials and avoiding often costly catalogue structures.
3. Consultation Process
One of the lessons learned during the consultation process is that the process takes much longer than was originally anticipated and is not simply “a once only meeting” exercise.
The consultation process involved initial scoping with key players in each area including the Elected Members, Community Groups and Residents Associations. These scoping exercises invariably lead to more than one meeting before the full consultation meeting. In virtually every case residents requested a design to be provided so that they could understand what exactly was being proposed. The requirement to have a design worked out is especially important where residents are opposed to the provision of traditional playgrounds due to a history of vandalism and anti social behaviour. It has to be clearly demonstrated how our proposals will address the specific site conditions in each given location.
In many cases the proposals have been accepted as they were natural play spaces rather than “playgrounds”.
After the issues of contention have been identified it is then possible to proceed to a full public consultation meeting and to which the Elected Members are also invited. If the proposals are rejected at this stage there is no point in proceeding any further with the proposal. If the proposal is passed at the public meeting it still cannot be taken for granted that the proposal will proceed. It has been our experience that residents who have not attended the public meetings often raise objections afterwards. This has lead to numerous follow-on meetings and design amendments.
The issue of anti social behaviour is a very real concern in virtually all parts of the County. Residents in areas where anti social behaviour is not a major issue are concerned that a play space would attract it. In other areas residents feel that it would increase the anti social behaviour levels.
Following agreements with stakeholders each approved site has gone to tender. In each case the tender analysis has been done with the participation of local stakeholders. This gives people an appreciation of the issues involved and keeps local people involved in the decision making process. This has been a very successful procedure and it is proposed to continue it in subsequent years.
In order to expedite the 2015 programme it is proposed to commence consultation on this programme in November 2014 and after the Elected Members have been briefed on the current programme through the Area Committee meetings.
4. The Five Year Play Space Programme 2014 - 2018
A total of 10 sites throughout the county were included in the 2014 Play Space Programme. Two other sites at Hermitage Park in Lucan and Ballycragh Park in Firhouse were separately funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. One site at Tymon Park (Tymon North side) is separately funded through the Council’s Capital Programme.
Of the 13 sites listed contracts have been issued for 8 sites, 1 site is out for tender, 1 is ready to go to tender and it was not possible to reach agreement on the remaining 3 sites.
The listing of the programme by Electoral Area has now been revised to match with the new Local Electoral boundaries and the proposed play spaces for Tallaght Central and Tallaght Central are shown in the tables below. A review of progress in the 2014 programme is summarised at 4.3 below
| 4.1 Tallaght Central | ||||
| Location |
Type |
Proposed timescale | Updates | |
| Avonbeg |
Local |
2014 | Commence 11.12.14 | |
| Belgard Heights |
Local |
2014 | No agreement possible | |
| Ambervale |
Local |
2015 | ||
| Kilnamanagh Parkhill Rd |
Local |
2015 | ||
| Kingswood open space |
Local |
2016 | ||
| Ballymount Park |
Neighbourhood |
2017 | ||
| Bancroft Park |
Neighbourhood |
2017 | ||
| Old Bawn Park |
Neighbourhood |
2017 | ||
| Kilnamanagh Treepark Rd |
Local |
2018 | ||
|
4.2 Tallaght South |
|
|||
|
Killinarden Community Centre |
Local | 2014 | Commence 17.11.14 | |
|
Aylesbury |
Local | 2015 | ||
|
Jobstown Park |
Neighbourhood | 2015 | ||
|
McGee Park |
Neighbourhood | 2016 | ||
|
Seán Walsh Park, Marlfield |
Local | 2016 | ||
|
Killinardan Park |
Neighbourhood | 2018 | ||
4.3 Summary of progress in 2014 in the Tallaght Central and South Electoral Areas
4.3.1 Tallaght Central
Avonbeg Park- Contract issued and works due to commence on 11th December. Additional funding (€3,000) secured from Community Department to provide a Boules Court for the local active retired group as part of this development.
The design for the playspace at Avonbeg was developed in association with the children from the Amplifying Voices group in St Dominics Community Centre. For a number of years they have campaigned for play facilities in Avonbeg including visiting the Council Chamber. It was considered very important for these children to be fully involved in the design of the space and the selection of the winning tender. The design reflects discussions with the group on what it means to come from Avonbeg. The themes discussed included Tallaght- past and present, St Dominic- patron saint of astronomers and local Celtic mythology. The final design is very unique. The focus is on creating opportunities for natural play. It is comprised of concentric circles of earth and contains swings, a hill slide, a big sand pit, huge climbing boulders and trees. Additional funding has been secured for a Boules Court alongside the play space for used by the local active retired group. This is a very appropriate addition as the retired people in the area have continually supported the local children in their campaign for a playground. It also means that more local people will feel a sense of ownership of the area and ensure its success.
Belgard Heights- It was not possible to reach an agreement on this location despite exhaustive consultations and 3 different design proposals. Although there was broad support for the proposal in the estate residents did not want the playspace near their own homes.
4.3.2 Tallaght South
Killinardan Community Centre- Contract has been issued and installation is scheduled to commence on 17th November.
The previous play area, although very popular had to be removed as it had become dilapidated. The centre wanted something similar to the old unit. The proposal is for a bespoke handcrafted hardwood timber play unit. It has many ways to climb up and down, balance, swing and engage in imaginative play. It was designed with inclusiveness in mind but it also has a very strong aesthetic- contrasting to metal, concrete and other hard surfaces in the area. All the surfacing is being replaced and a new bench will be provided.