Greenwich (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Greenwich’s Adventure Play Centre faces closure fears, raising concerns among parents and campaigners over the loss of a vital space for local children.
Greenwich Council stated in February that it would assess its adventure play centers (APCs) as part of its medium-term financial strategy for 2025–2026. The goal is to save £400,000 this year and £2.2 million over the following four years.
“An opportunity to invest in some of the APC sites, or in other facilities in close proximity, to provide an up-to-date, more accessible offer, with fewer limitations,”
the council stated, referring to the savings.
Users of APC are concerned that this could result in the closure of some of the beloved centers, which each include unique play equipment such as zip wires, rope swings, and walkways.
Additionally, some offer indoor activities like table tennis and arts and crafts.
Last week, residents who were fighting to keep the centres open demonstrated outside a full meeting of Greenwich Council. Many of them were concerned that closing the clinics would negatively impact the lives of young people and increase their vulnerability to crime and antisocial conduct.
They were also worried that the public consultation, which was supposed to be issued in the summer, had not been started by Greenwich Council.
David Monteith has been advocating for the continuation of the Plumstead APC. He questioned whether the centers’ closing was inevitable at the meeting.
He said:
“To avoid the risk of being seen as a process to justify a decision already made rather than a genuine dialogue with the community, can the council just please do us the courtesy of being transparent as to what transforming youth play actually means to you and what it practically wants to achieve?”
In response, the council’s cabinet member for equality, culture and communities Sandra Bauer said the council was “absolutely” taking the concerns of residents seriously.
She said the upcoming consultation would take into consideration all the issues raised by residents and highlight “any potential consequences” that could occur as a result of the proposals.
Cllr Bauer said:
“We absolutely take this seriously. To be transparent I think you need to see the consultation and as you know it’s not out there yet.
We have committed to have got that out there by the end of the year. We do commit to being completely transparent.”
Although it hasn’t happened yet, Cllr. Bauer stated in July that the public consultation on the centers would begin in the “coming weeks.”
Cllr. Bauer stated at last week’s meeting that the start of the consultation had been delayed by many internal council meetings.
Cllr. Bauer stated that it “was likely to be the case” that the final decision about adventure playgrounds would not be made until the following year, given that the consultation process is still ongoing. The decision was supposed to be made by December.
A motion put up by independent council members Majella Anning and Ann-Marie Cousins urged the council to pledge to keep all five APCs and its employees.
Talking on the motion, Cllr Anning said:
“Shutting adventure playcentres is a false economy. It looks good on paper to see how you can save the money, but what does it take away from children’s lives?”
Cllr Anning claimed that council leader Anthony Okereke had confirmed to her some months ago that the council planned to close all five of the centres to save money and help plug its budget gap. She asked the council to think of those using the service first before attempting to save money.
Cllr Anning said:
“Maintaining a safe and healthy environment for children is one of the most important jobs a council can do. This is why we are moving this motion, because we want certainty, the residents want certainty, and what we should be doing is making a retention of these valuable assets our starting point, and then we work out how we can make up the shortfall to keep them going.”
When seconding the motion, Cllr Cousins read out some concerns shared to her by Plumstead residents campaigning to keep their APC open, chiefly the potential for an increase in youth crime and antisocial behaviour. Cllr Cousins said:
“Residents feel that clarity and communication are sorely lacking, and repeated questions have been avoided and deflected. Whether intentional or not, it leaves residents feeling as if the council considers them to be stupid.”
Cllr. Bauer proposed a Labour amendment to the motion, arguing that it did not recognize “the opportunity this consultation gives to us to listen to parents, children who are the users, and staff to align play for different age groups across the borough” or “the significant savings this administration is committed to making in order to set a realistic budget.”
The amendment also mentioned the £10 million that Greenwich Council has invested in youth services over the past three years, the £1.5 million that has been invested in the borough’s emotional wellbeing hubs, which support the mental health of young people, and the £1,755,957 that has been spent on sports facilities and playgrounds.
He said:
“I’m a youth practitioner by trade and I have been for decades. I know the system inside out and I know there are organisations out there that will step forward and say ‘Let us help the council in delivering a youth service that’s fit for the 21st Century’.
We don’t know what’s going to come out from the consultation, that’s why we’re going out for a consultation. What comes out of there is going to shape it up. You can shake your head as much as you like, but we are going to listen to young people and put their views at the heart of what we do.”
Cllr Calum O’Byrne Mulligan accused the independents of “fearmongering”, saying that he had met with the manager of the Meridian APC and residents to discuss a £15,000 cash injection into the site he had secured from housing developers. He said:
“I think that shows the difference between this Labour administration and the opposition here who simply want to play games and fearmonger with our young people.”
What alternative youth services could replace the centres?
A network of community-based youth hubs situated throughout Greenwich which provide safe spaces for young people aged between 8 and 19 (up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities).
They offer sports based activities (football, boxing, judo, dance), art and music based activities, health and wellbeing provision, learning and skills development and social clubs. Facilities include music studios, kitchens, IT suites, gaming zones and indoor/outdoor sports courts.
Young people are provided with mentoring, advice, sexual health advice and access to health professionals. All activities are inclusive and cater for a range of needs and abilities.