Brent Council removes compromising Stonebridge Playground funding proposal from its website

At the weekend I published an item from the Brent Forward Plan which showed that despite the consultation about the future of Stonebridge, including the closure of the Adventure Playground, not ending until today, the Council was intending to cut its funding.

Muhammed Butt had assured residents and their children (recorded on video) that nothing had been decided ahead of the outcome  consultatiopn on the expansion of Stonebridge Primary school and the building of new housing that necessitated  the Playground's demolition.  He did go on at length about needing to save money so presumably it was the funding cut he had in mind.

The  Council's  Forward Plan published at the weekend including a proposal for the December 15th  Cabinet that funding for the Stonebridge Adventure Playground be 'terminated'.

Now that item has been removed from the Forward Planning section of the Council website, If you follow the link I published this is what you get:

Luckily I had copied the item on Sunday.  For those of you denied access by the Council, this is what it said (original format):

Revenue funding to Brent Play Association which supports the running costs of Stonebridge Adventure Playground

Details
History

To terminate the funding to Brent Play Association (BPA) at the end of the 2014-15 financial year.

Decision type: Key

Reason Key: Signficant expenditure/savings > 30% of budget for the function in question;

Decision status: For Determination

Wards affected: (All Wards);

Notice of proposed decision first published: 14/11/2014

Decision due: 15 Dec 2014 by Cabinet

Lead member: Lead Member for Children and Young People

Lead director: Strategic Director, Children and Young People

Department: Children and Young People

Contact: Sara Williams, Operational Director, Early Help and Education Email: sara.williams@brent.gov.uk Tel: 020 8937 3510.

Documents

Revenue funding to Brent Play Association which supports the running costs of Stonebridge Adventure Playground 

Other items on the Forward Plan sent out at the same time  are still accessible.

Now what possible motive could Brent Council have for removing something that should be publicly accessible and clearly has major repercussions for the parents, carers and children of Stonebridge?

ACV status for Stonebridge Adventure Playground to be decided next week

The Kilburn Times has been supporting the campaign since the start

The Brent Play Association's application for Stonebridge Adventure Playground to be made an asset of community value is due to get a response from Brent Council by November 5th.

ACV status gives some protection to such assets but does not prevent development.  However, it can be taken into account by the Planning Committee and clears the ground for a community bid. It makes a clear public statement that the facility is valued by the public.

Certainly the playground can easily demonstration that it has been a community asset for decades and many personal testimonials demonstrate its value to a community.

Front: Martin Francis (Green Party) and Dawn Butler (Labour) united in defence of the playground

The playground's fight for survival has received much support including that of Dawn Butler, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Brent Central, despite Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt insisting that he remains 'neutral'. I am supporting the fight both as a Tustree of the Brent Play Association and as Brent Green Party's spokesperson on children and families.

A community asset then...

and now

Parents and children speak out to save Stonebridge Adventure Playground

Not for the first time Stonebridge Adventure Playground, which has sertved generations of children in one of the most disadvantaged areas of Brent  since 1976, is threatened with closure.

Children and parents speak out in this impromptu video, recorded on Friday, about what the playground means to them.

Sign the petition to save the playground HERE

A wonderful facility for children - let's see it widely used

Brent has some resources that deserve to be more widely known and used.  One such is the Brent Play Association on the ground floor of Peppermint Heights (formerly Middlesex House) adjacent to the Grand Union canal and opposite Sainsbury's in Alperton. It is close to Alperton Station. The BPA's John Lyon narrow boat is moored close by.

The Peppermint Heights facilities are  used for holiday and weekend play schemes for children with special needs. However, the facilities would be useful for organisations working with young people during the week including play therapy, art therapy, one to one contact, sensory work, group work as well as for voluntary organisations or community groups wanting a meeting place.


I will let the facilities speak for themselves through the images below:

Art Room

Multi-sensory room for stimulus or calming

TV Room

Play area

Large kitchen

Conference space (up to 100)

Small meeting space

Safe outdoor play

As one of the trustees of the Brent Play Association I would like to see these wonderful facilities much more widely used. The BPA would be pleased to show you what they have to offer. Contact details are HERE

Stonebridge Adventure Playground stays to avoid Big Lottery clawback

Stonebridge Adventure Playground in earlier times

Another report going to the Executive on May 23rd seeks authority to award a contract to Brent Play Association for  running the Stonebridge Adventure Playground and Special Educational Needs Afterschool Clubs in Brent.

The contract has been going through years of short-term renewal since 2008 when BPA lost the contract to a charity called Kids after a bidding process. Kids sponsors included David Cameron and Cheri Blair but there were doubts about its ability to cater for Brent's diverse community and concern that the 'locally grown' playleaders who offered a positive role model to local children would be lost.  Kids eventually said they were unable to deliver the contract and withdrew. The BPA were invited to step back in to retrieve the situation and there followed a series of re-tendering proposals, short-term contracts and uncertainty for staff and children.

The uncertainty continues with this contract as it only runs from 1st June 2011 until 31st March 2012.
While securing play for children over the summer holiday  it still leaves the future in doubt. Playworkers will be in a quandary about whether to seek other work after the summer and the BPA is likely to have to once again issue protective redundancy notices to staff.

The Council faces a major problem with the Stonebridge Adventure Playground because the Playground Project was funded in 2008 under a deed of dedication with the Big Lottery Fund. Under the deed the site can only be used for the Project and cannot be disposed of without the consent of the Fund. In addition the Fund can withdraw funding or require repayment if the Council does not comply with any of the terms of the deed. The short-term contract removes the risk of repayment. 

The ten month contract is valued at £150,000 and the Council  will pay the running and utility costs of the Stonebridge Centre and the running costs of playschemes. The BPA will continue to occupy the Adventure Playground. Over the summer officers will consider options for the  'most appropriate future service delivery models for providing play services in Brent.' Sounding a note of of warning the report states that 'within a reduced budget it is likely this service will be increasingly targeted to those in greatest need'.  This sounds like the rationing of children's play opportunities. Sad, when £150,000 in the context of the overall budget, is such a small sum.

Meanwhile the campaign to secure the long-term future of Stonebridge Adventure Playground continues LINK
The Council report can be found HERE

Declaration of Interest: I am a trustee of Brent Play Association and a member of Play England which is dedicated to improving play facilities for children. This blog represents my personal views and not necessarily those of either organisation.