Date of meeting: 29 January 2026
Proposer: Cllr Robins
Seconder: Cllr Baghoth
Ward(s) affected: All
Notice of Motion
Labour Group Amendment
That deletions
are made as shown with strikethrough below and additional
recommendations are added as shown in bold
italics below:
This Council notes:
1)
Theopportunity right to play should be
available to all people in Brighton & Hove, especially children
and young people.
2) Quality play opportunities are essential to physical and cognitive development.
3) The Council owns 53 play areas, 22 multi use games areas and 9 skateparks which are all free and open to the public and that most have recently been refurbished including adding play opportunities for children with disabilities. We also have leisure facilities, parks, open spaces and woodland that allow for play.
4) Outdoor play in England has halved in a generation according to Raising the Nation’s Play Commission due playground closures, busier roads, shortened school break times and the use of smartphones.
5)
The Government’s
new draft National Planning Policy Framework sets out supportive
national decision-making policies, for example to require
development proposals to be designed to facilitate and encourage
social interaction, play and healthy lifestyles. It also requires
development plans to “at the most appropriate level…
set local standards for the provision of different types of outdoor
recreational land, including for play, sport, informal recreation
and allotments. Play England has proposed that
City Planning should place play alongside housing, infrastructure
and sustainability as a core element of spatial planning in the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
Therefore, resolves to:
1)
Include in the council’s consultation response to the
draft NPPF that the document Ask the Council
Leader to write to Baroness Taylor of Stevenage echoing Play
England’s request for a House of Lords amendment to the NPPF
to creates
a statutory requirement for play sufficiency on local
authorities.
2)
Ask the People
Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider setting up a
‘Play Sufficiency’ Task and Finish Group. This may
consider areas such as:
·
An
audit of existing play provision
·
Removing ‘no ball games’ signs, and similar, from
public land and encourage private landowners to do
so.
·
A map of smaller green spaces that could be used for
play.
·
Looking at ways to ensure new developments are considerate to the
needs of children and young people as part of the City
Plan.
·
Seeking to invest capital funding into play parks and
facilities that are accessible to all.
·
Investigating ways to improve access to nature-based
play.
·
Designating a Councillor to act as the city’s ‘play
champion’
Supporting Information:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czednjy7wlxo
https://www.playscotland.org/resources/print/Getting-It-Right-For-Play-2025.pdf?plsctml_id=25096
Examples of play sufficiency assessments which are required in Wales & Scotland:
https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/media/jewbfkgx/1-edc-play-sufficiency-assessment_full.pdf
Recommendations to read if carried:
This Council notes:
1) The opportunity to play should be available to all people in Brighton & Hove, especially children and young people.
2) Quality play opportunities are essential to physical and cognitive development.
3) The Council owns 53 play areas, 22 multi use games areas and 9 skateparks which are all free and open to the public and that most have recently been refurbished including adding play opportunities for children with disabilities. We also have leisure facilities, parks, open spaces and woodland that allow for play.
4) Outdoor play in England has halved in a generation according to Raising the Nation’s Play Commission due playground closures, busier roads, shortened school break times and the use of smartphones.
5) The Government’s new draft National Planning Policy Framework sets out supportive national decision-making policies, for example to require development proposals to be designed to facilitate and encourage social interaction, play and healthy lifestyles. It also requires development plans to “at the most appropriate level… set local standards for the provision of different types of outdoor recreational land, including for play, sport, informal recreation and allotments.
Therefore, resolves to:
1) Include in the council’s consultation response to the draft NPPF that the document creates a statutory requirement for play sufficiency on local authorities.