South Ayrshire Council Play Parks funding: FOI release

Information requested

1. The details of the £2m Funding award to South Ayrshire Council for children's Play Parks.
2. Include any funding conditions that South Ayrshire Council were to meet.
3. Details of the Council's original application and the criteria that must be met.
4. Including all previous correspondence sent and received before the funding being granted.

Response

Question 1 - The details of the £2m Funding award to South Ayrshire Council for children's Play Parks.

South Ayrshire was awarded the following funding to date:

• £94,000 funding in 2021/22;
• £94,000 in 2022/23
• £189,000 in 2023/24

and funding has been confirmed for the following years:

• £283,000 in 2024/25
• £472,000 in 2025/26

This totals £1,132,000 funding towards the renewal of play parks.

Question 2 - Include any funding conditions that South Ayrshire Council were to meet.

South Ayrshire Council are required to consider the whole play estate and all play parks that have been identified for refurbishment in line with nationally agreed principles and influenced by local plans and investment priorities will be refurbished.

The agreed definition of an eligible play park is one which is local authority owned, managed or maintained sites, designated for play, which are free to access and open to all. Play parks in private ownership, those that require an entry fee or those only available to specific groups / with conditions for entry would be outwith scope. We would expect that play parks with equipment (swings, slides etc) aimed at children aged 0-14 would be included as would other facilities used by the same age group (e.g. pump tracks), but MUGAs (Multi Use Game Areas) or dedicated sports fields would be outwith scope.

Scottish Government worked with COSLA to set out the national principles against which spending plans should be developed, ensuring engagement with children and young people is prioritised in order to meet their needs. The national principles set out how local authorities should review their existing estate, prioritise renewal work, and design play parks that offer improved play opportunities for children and families.

Principle 1: Children, young people, and families are best placed to inform what quality play looks like to them, and should therefore be involved throughout the process, from the review of parks through to helping design the renewal of individual play parks. This is in line with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which sets out that every child who is capable of forming his or her own views has the right to express those views freely. The views of children, young people and families provide valuable insight into how they interact with parks and facilities.

Principle 2: All children have the right to play under the UNCRC Article 31. Access to play should be as wide-reaching and inclusive as possible, ensuring that children, young people, and families have easy local access to play spaces where they feel safe and comfortable to use them. Inclusiveness looks different for everyone, so meaningful engagement with the children who will be using your play parks is fundamental.

Principle 3: Play parks and spaces should seek to bring together local communities, children and young people of all ages and abilities, creating a greater sense of place and cohesion. The design and renewal of play parks should be done in a way that best meets the social and environmental needs of communities and its children and young people.

Principle 4: The renewal programme will be strengthened by sharing and learning from best practice and making use of existing national resources. There are several other tools that can help local authorities to take a strategic and evidence-based approach to the design and renewal of their local play parks. Tools such as Play Value Assessments, an internal audit and inventory of play parks, and existing legislation and standards can provide a helpful basis for prioritising work.

Local authorities are expected to report annually on their progress.

Question 3 - Details of the Council's original application and the criteria that must be met.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. The reasons why we don’t have the information are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Question 4 - All previous correspondence sent and received before the funding being granted.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. The reasons why we don’t have the information are explained in the Annex to this letter.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202300349881 - Information Released - Annex

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