Introduction
In St Edmundsbury 41.5% of the population live in rural areas; that is about 40,710 people, 9770 of which are children and young people under 19. However, 40% of villages do not have a play area and 31% have no village hall or community area.
Play should be an integral part of every child’s life and outdoor play is essential to health and long term development.
In research we carried out in rural areas, boys listed football, bike riding and climbing trees as their favourite activity. Girls favoured riding bikes and climbing trees, but also highlighted play centred around Bratz dolls, computer games and so on.
The vision for play in St Edmundsbury is to: ‘create and sustain inclusive play opportunities to contribute to enabling all children and young people in Suffolk to enjoy themselves and develop their potential, giving them the basis for a successful life as active members of the community’.
Rural opportunities
There are lots of opportunities to play in St Edmundsbury and we want to make sure that all children and young people have what they want to improve their quality of life, whilst assuring parents that their children are safe.
Traffic on narrow roads makes unrestricted children’s play impossible for many rural children with increasing numbers of vehicles posing a danger to young cyclists. Whilst there may be footpaths for children to explore, parents are reluctant to allow their children to access them unsupervised, and the freedom to explore and enjoy the countryside is being lost.
Children would like to see more parks, play areas, equipment and nature trails. More football facilities were seen as important by around 10% of children, and equipped areas with climbing frames, swings, slides and seesaws were a high priority for all children.
Play in rural locations cannot be solely defined to mean play sites with expensive equipment. The provision of areas where children can exercise and engage in imaginative play in a safe but less structured environment is also important.
Find out where your nearest play area is
