Play strategy for the former Wycombe district area 2017 to 2022

The need to consult with residents, including children and young people, is seen as key to the success of this strategy. Input from parents, carers, children and young people as well as stakeholders is essential to ensure that the council is using resources in an effective manner and in a way which has a positive effect on children and young people. The former Wycombe District Council is committed to consulting on a continuing basis throughout the lifespan of this strategy, to ensure that its aims and objectives stay relevant and are working to improve play and play opportunities.

The former Wycombe District Council will consult at key intervals throughout the strategy, and will ensure that all input is carefully considered.

The former Wycombe district covers 125 square miles. The main towns are High Wycombe, Princes Risborough and Marlow.

The 2011 Census showed that 171,644 people were resident within the former Wycombe district, which is an increase of 6% since the last census (2001). Within the former district 41% of households have children (27,557 houses) with 32% of households having dependent children. From the Census date, there are 42,710 children and young people aged between 0 and 19 years of age within the former Wycombe district. There are 32,055 children under 15 years of age within the former district.

The former Buckinghamshire County Council published additional demographic work in 2015, and calculated that in 2014 there were 35,264 children aged 0 to 15 years within the former Wycombe district area. Buckinghamshire Populations Projections moving forward (2014 to 2018), anticipate an extra 4,100 young people (0 to 19 years) across the whole county, with an expected increase in Wycombe’s young person population estimated at 2.6%.

The ethnic makeup of the former district (according to the 2011 census) is 81% White British, Irish or European with the remaining 19% coming from a wide ethnic or heritage base which includes, but is not limited to, Pakistani, Black Caribbean, Chinese, Indian and Black African people, most of whom live in High Wycombe. 12% of people identified as either Asian, or Asian British (including Chinese); 3% of Wycombe residents identified as Black or Black British and 3% identified as having a Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Heritage. No other group comprise more than 1% of the total population.

The importance of consulting with residents is recognised and the former Wycombe District Council will make every effort to ensure that any consultation is easily available and accessible. We will aim to consult with children and young people and their parents and carers as well as other residents who may have an interest in specific projects (for example the development of a new playground or park area near their home).

The former Wycombe District Council will consult at specific intervals throughout the strategy to ensure that the strategy is still relevant and is achieving its objectives. This consultation process will take the format of questionnaires and/or resident surveys. All results will be analysed, and the data gained used to inform our strategy and plans. All data will be referred to in an anonymised way, i.e., individual people will not be identified in any reports and/or data that are published.

The initial consultation phase for the Play Strategy was broken down into 3 parts. A questionnaire was sent to 38 identified key stakeholders. Further to this, 66 schools within the former Wycombe district were contacted and invited to take part in the Children and Young People’s Consultation. The schools were also asked to pass on details to parents about the Parent/Carer consultation.

In addition, both questionnaires were available to complete via the former Wycombe District Council website and the Bucks Family Information Website. A total of 898 responses were received.

Listed below are common priorities and themes that were picked up on within each of the consultations. For full details, please contact the Community Services Department for the individual consultation response documents.

Common priorities and themes included:

• the installation and continued maintenance of play equipment for all age ranges
• collaborative partnership work, both in terms of procurement of equipment and in terms of ensuring complementary play equipment across the district
• inclusivity and accessibility
• support was received for an annual or biannual play day event

Common priorities and themes included:

• further research needed into the provision for older children/teenagers (aged 10+) and identifying what equipment and/or opportunities would be most appropriate and appealing for this age group
• to focus on the continued maintenance and upkeep of playground and park sites to reduce litter and refer on comments regarding anti-social behaviour to Community Safety and/or Anti-Social Behaviour teams as required
• to investigate provision of sports activities/facilities such as tennis walls etc., in particular for older children and teenagers including affordability and local provisions
• to note the preferred play equipment/provision such as water play, basket swings and swings, rope climbing frames, roundabouts and adventure playgrounds and seek to include/utilise in any new developments or refurbishments of existing playgrounds
• to note requests for improved facilities such as more litter bins and benches/shelters and seek to incorporate in any new designs, developments or refurbishments. While toilets were requested, they can only be provided as part of another building at nil cost to the council

However, it is important to note that the majority of children have said that they regularly use playgrounds (80%). Many comments and answers were in general positive about the facilities already provided, with over 90% saying their local park was either ‘brilliant’ or ‘OK’. In addition, over 85% of children who responded said that they felt safe in their local park.

Common priorities and themes included:

• the continued maintenance, upkeep and refurbishment of current fixed playground equipment
• the provision of play equipment or features for all age ranges, but also in particular equipment suitable for older children and teenagers
• to investigate provision of sports activities/facilities in particular for older children and teenagers (as above in CYP findings)
• to note the preferred play equipment/provision such as an adventure playground, adult gym equipment and rope climbing frames and seek to include/utilise in any new developments or refurbishments of existing playgrounds
• to note requests for improved facilities such as toilets, parking and shelters and seek to incorporate in any new designs, developments, or refurbishments. As noted above while toilets were requested, they can only be provided as part of another building at nil cost to the council
• to investigate ways in which information on play facilities and events can be best promoted to parents/carers and children within the former district

Again, it should be noted that that the majority of respondents regularly use the green spaces such as parks (74%) and playgrounds (66%) and a number of comments were positive about the facilities already available. In addition, it is positive to note that the vast majority of respondents feel safe (91%) when using the parks and playgrounds throughout the former district.