Dear
KA Members and Friends
Lollard Street Adventure Playground
Two
years ago we became aware that this play project was under threat. It had
become embroiled in the future of the old Lilian Baylis
School site and a
possible scheme of land development that would have resulted in the demolition of
the playground. We won that battle but since then new threats of closure from
Lambeth Council led us to set up the
Friends of Lollard Street Adventure Playground and we reported that development
to you at our AGM last October and also in the Annual Report.
Meetings
were held with parents and children at the playground, often attended by local
Councillors who were supportive. Councillor Pete Robbins, who holds the
responsibility for children and young people on Lambeth Council, also came and
explained to us the Council’s desire to enable local groups and voluntary
organisations to take over the management from the Council. He listened to children and parents who told
him how important it was to have the project open after school hours as for many
it was the only safe place for children of working parents to go. Not long
afterwards the Council closed the playground and reopened it in September 2011,
but for one session only during term-time. Currently, it opens for three and a
half hours on Fridays but every day during the school holidays. The play
workers are now provided by Lambeth Play Association, and they are excellent,
but as frustrated as we are that children cannot access the project when their
needs are greatest: after school.
Throughout
this time we have worked hard to find a way of reopening the playground each
weekday as it was before; providing a variety of activities as well as free play
for children from five to sixteen years old. We also felt that the building and
the playground could be developed to provide a real community hub for local
people of all ages. The development of the old Lilian Baylis site and the plans
for excellent sporting facilities by the Black Prince Trust and the Sports
Action Zone gave real impetus for this idea.
Lambeth’s Cooperative Council has now invited expressions
of interest to manage its play services, including Lollard Street. Of those organisations that
we know about, only our own is fully committed to children’s play and the only
group that has attempted to engage parents, carers and children from the
locality in our campaign. We have now been joined by Sparkworks Creative Arts,
the Homework Club and Progress which is a gardening and healthy living project.
Each of these voluntary projects is known to LSAP having provided additional
creative sessions in the past and are keen to do so again, if we can get the
play sessions reopened.
With KA in the lead, we are now preparing an
application for the first stage in this tender process. Our intention would be
to form a contract with the Lambeth Play Association who are well established
and experienced in training and providing qualified play workers to Lollard Street and
elsewhere. The staff would be directly employed by LPA who would be responsible
for everything concerned with their recruitment and employment. The same would
apply to our associates who recruit and employ their own people.
The lead group however, would be the Kennington
Association: responsible for the development, maintenance and funding of the
project. Our subgroup FOLSAP would be responsible for implementing KA’s
strategy. All members of FOLSAP have agreed to become members of KA, whether
individual or corporate. Your elected KA officers initiated FOLSAP and continue
to lead it. Our Honorary Secretary, Chris Eames-Jones is FOLSAP’s chairperson. The
other members are parents, local residents and our three associates, Sparkworks,
Homework Club and Progress.
Members and Friends of the Kennington Association, we need
your support:
KA‘s
Constitution embodies our desire to improve the health and welfare of our local
community and we have always held the welfare of children to be a priority. Amongst our members and our local community we
have huge talent and skill and we have a wonderful opportunity now to prove our
collective worth.
The Council has agreed to provide some core funding
for three years. In the first year, this will almost cover staffing the
associated administrative costs. There is also some provision for maintenance,
but local voluntary effort could help us save some of that. We may need some
legal advice too in deciding whether or not to seek charitable status and in
ensuring we are adequately insured and covered for contingencies. The building
and the structures in the adventure playground will need improvement and we
will need to fundraise to improve and enhance the equipment. We have already
obtained a small grant (£950) to provide the children with a quiet area, which
was at their request.
But we need to get through the first hurdle which is
that of having our initial application accepted as a group that the Council can
accept as provisional managers for Lollard Street Adventure Playground. We will
not be the biggest bidders but we are the most rooted in the community and the
only group that has consulted the families who greatly value this rare play
provision.
Please let us know that KA’s Committee has your
support and any ideas or offers of expertise would be most welcome.
With all good wishes
Anna Tapsell
Chairperson
Kennington Association
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kennington Association
Kennington Association
c/- 235B Kennington Lane SE11 5QU
E: KenningtonAssociation@gmail.
W: http://sites.google.com/site/
E: KenningtonAssociation@gmail.
W: http://sites.google.com/site/
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