It’s a warm day in July and Ginette is pushing her grandson on a swing next to the remains of a climbing frame, destroyed in an arson attack last October and still not replaced at the height of summer.
“This is so sad,” she says. “This used to be a beautiful park, now look at it.”
Elswick Park in Newcastle is one of the most deprived corners of the north-east of England. In corners of the park hidden from the street drug addicts regularly leave needles and glass.
The charity Urban Green, which took over management of the park in 2019, says it is preparing to replace the equipment using the insurance money.
But families and campaigners say that local children – almost half of whom live in poverty – deserve better than a playground that is still an eyesore nine months after it burnt down.
Pauline Pyle has lived in Elswick for 50 years. “That park is a no-go zone,” she says. “There are people taking drugs, it’s not safe. I’d never take my grandkids there.”
Has she seen any improvement in the playground and park?
“Oh, things are worse. We lost a play barn as well. I think they don’t want to spend money on us in the west end. They don’t think we’re worth it. There is so little for the kids here.”
The local school has a tree-lined playground that is an oasis for the children, but it is closed for the summer. Family support worker Lorraine Shields is stressed about the holidays.
“Parents will be under a lot of financial pressure and I know some of our children will barely go outside all summer. We see the impact of the lack of play in our children, we see the obesity.”
Shields is working with playworker Jackie Boldon to run sessions on the streets for children and parents. Local charities are doing energetic work and everyone here is proud of the community-run swimming pool that was brought back to life after being shut down.
Boldon used to be part of a team of council-employed playworkers with Newcastle council, a service stripped away as it has been in local authorities across England. Shields feels they are rowing against a tide that is stripping local provision away.
“Elswick Park used to be well looked after. It’s very sad. We lost our full youth provision in 2013 and we have lost a lot of doorstep play to housing. We are just reinventing the wheel, it’s the same people doing the same things but with less money.”
Nearby, on Farndale Road in Benwell, the well-used playground is falling apart.
The swings are missing, the roundabout surface has fallen off, litter is scattered in large piles nearby. Children say they were asked a year ago what they wanted in the council run park but it has never materialised.
Margaret Ridley, at the Benwell North youth project, says: “The older ones wanted concrete space for skateboards and bikes. The younger ones said how about a hill with a slide down it.
“The children told me today they can’t see any of their ideas there. The swings are missing again, the roundabout is still broken. They have even taken away a climbing frame which the kids loved.”
For families, the parks may be all they have for holiday entertainment.
“We are surrounded by streets and streets of big families living in crowded accommodation,” she says. ‘Football costs a fiver, the trampoline park costs money. There is a cost of living crisis here. We need better communal spaces.”
‘We spent £3,000 repairing some swings – they lasted a week’
While some of Newcastle’s parks offer outstanding provision for children, even the bigger parks are falling into disrepair.
Newcastle council, like other local authorities, has faced years of sustained drops in central government funding. In March the council signed off a budget that involved £23m of cuts.
A Guardian analysis of park spending across England shows that Newcastle council has reduced spending on parks by two-thirds in 10 years.
In 2019 the council handed management of several parks to Urban Green, in the hope the charity could lean on volunteer power and tap into more funds.
Carol Pyrah, who took over as chief executive of Urban Green a year ago, says the charity has 56 play areas to manage, some of which are coming to the end of their natural life, but there are no immediate pots of money. “We want to work with the Friends of the Park and look at whether there is section 106 money [from developers]. We are helping local people raise money through crowdfunding. In the meantime we are fencing off equipment that isn’t safe. Safety is the priority.”
Pyre says that Urban Green is also experiencing a huge vandalism problem – part of a national pattern. “Playgrounds are a huge target for antisocial behaviour. In Walker Park recently we spent £3,000 repairing some swings – they lasted a week.” The council was asked for an interview to talk about playground funding but it said nobody was available to speak in depth.
In a statement, Paula Maines, cabinet member for a resilient city at Newcastle city council, said: “In 2019 spending on parks, allotments and green spaces across the country had hit an all-time low. It was clear a new approach was needed. Following extensive consultation … Urban Green Newcastle was formed and took over the management of 33 parks. Newcastle city council work closely with Urban Green to support their work.
“We are currently delivering a project of improvement works to 61 of the city’s play areas and expect to complete these by the end of September 2023 with a total investment of over £1.9m in play spaces.”
In 2019 the city council listed 45 play areas that would be improved, maintained or turned into an alternative play space, with the equipment removed to save money.
However, in places like Benwell, children say the works have resulted in little improvement.
