Pic: Gareth Richards
Residents formed a 150-strong ‘human fence’ in Victoria Park on Saturday to protest against the lack of a real one around newly built playgrounds.
Tower Hamlets Labour leader Joshua Peck rallied councillors, residents and parents in pushing for an ongoing £12m refurbishment to give its play spaces fences.
Bethnal Green MP Rushanara Ali also supported the protest.
Peck, who organised the action, told EastLondonLines: “The council needs to listen to the hundreds of parents who are telling it to finish the job and put the fence back around the playgrounds.”
The council said it had followed national guidelines which say children benefit when their play areas are integrated into a wider environment, and maintained that it had consulted local kids.
But concerned residents flocked to an online petition launched by Victoria Park Friends Group chair Richard Desmond after parents approached him about the issue.
The petition calls on the council to “protect the health and welfare of small children from avoidable harm” by fencing the playground.
It reads: “The children’s playgrounds have had fences removed and there are no current plans for their reinstatement. This now results in children under 5 being able to leave the playground easily and dogs defecating in the playgrounds.”
Hackney councillor Katie Hanson said: “The new play equipment is wonderful, but with a main road on one side, a lake on the other and many dog owners using the park, a fence is necessary to keep the children safe.”
The scheme, due to finish in April, is funded by the Heritage Lottery and Big Lottery Fund. New facilities include community centre and café, a rebuilt Chinese pagoda, and two new playgrounds.
The council said it was pleased with the positive reception from a “vast majority” of users and that it would monitor the situation and “make any changes necessary”.
It added: “We are also ensuring that other park users, such as dog owners, act responsibly.”
The petition closes on March 8 and will go before the council cabinet on March 14. View or sign it here.
How many objections does the Council need before it decides to act? Nearly 400 people have signed the petition to put a fence around the playground.
How precisely is the Council going to make sure dog owners act responsibly? Are they going to put a fence of park wardens around the site to stop the impact of what is already happening to small children?
The fact is that Council only consulted with older kids in schools and never made clear to parents that the fencing would be removed. If they had, they would have heard the views which are being expressed now. It’s essentially a failure of consultation.
Net effect – the V&A playground has changed from one which was safe for small children under 5 to one where parents are now saying they’re taking their small children elsewhere or they won’t bring their kids unless there’s one adult for every child.
Plus the playground near the boating lake also now has no fence between the playground and the boating lake – and ever such a nice slope for tiny tots to run down – towards the lake……..
You’d have thought after spending £12 million that the borough would have ended up with two top notch playgrounds – which were both safe for small children to use.
Couldn’t the £12 million have been better spent?