Future of Lollard Street Adventure Playground

Yesterday Cllr Pete Robbins, Lambeth Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, attended a meeting at Lollard Street Adventure Playground where he heard from children and parents who rely on the service it provides.

Pete was there to explain the Council's plans for the adventure playground service. Lambeth has more adventure playgrounds than any other borough. Currently seven are run directly by the Council, and eight are run by the voluntary sector. Voluntary sector-run adventure playgrounds are much cheaper to run. The Council is proposing to transfer the management of Council-run adventure playgrounds like Lollard Street to the voluntary sector.

This means the next few months will be challenging, as the adventure playground will have to adjust to new management and reduced funding. (Current opening hours and funding are guaranteed till the end of the summer.) However, Pete is confident that a good service can be preserved after September.

It was clear from the meeting that parents and children most value the after school provision which the adventure playground provides, as it helps parents who work and aren't available to look after their children after school. The challenge is to make the new management model work and ensure we preserve the current opening hours as much as we can.