Play Strategy – Ards and North Down Borough Council
Client: Ards and North Down Borough Council
The Challenge
To develop a forward looking ambitious and outcome-driven Play Strategy with a 10-year Action Plan for the period 2020-2030.
The development of a Play Strategy will define the priorities of Ards and North Down Borough Council to enable children and young people’s development within the Borough as part of wider social, physical, cognitive, creative, cultural and wellbeing driver that provides opportunities for participation in and access to, play provision and outdoor recreation activity and facilities.
The Role
To deliver on the following objectives of the strategy:
- Raise the awareness of the need for play
- Define the Council’s role
- Consider the Strategic Policy Context
- Asses the current play provision
- Assess if the current provision of play spaces meets the underlying demographic need and future settlement patterns and identify areas of over/under provision
- Engage with local communities
- Identify alternative play and non-fixed play approaches
- Ensure there is adequate provision for inclusive play
- Address the needs of older children and young people
- Outline core design principles
- Outline a standard approach to maintenance
- Improve the use of ancillary infrastructure
- Evaluate private and social residential play provision
- Increase the diversity of Play
- Explore the development of Play Partnerships
- Consider the promotion of a ‘Play Champion’ for the borough
- Produce an Action Plan to guide the delivery of the objectives