‘Children just play in the roads round here’

Children's paintings pasted on hoardings around the Kingshold Estate site

IT is a part of Hackney crisscrossed by busy roads and blighted by violence. The murder of Shaquille Smith happened a few hundred yards away, and many parents in the area are afraid to let their kids out to play.

Now campaigners hoping to turn a derelict plot of land in the area into a playground have spoken of their frustration with the Council. Parents on the New Kingshold Estate in South Hackney believe their children’s lives will be improved by the creation of a staffed adventure playground on the wasteland next to Tryon Crescent, but the Council has told them the land is reserved for housing.

Pat Turnbull, who is Chair of the Victoria Community Association which represents residents of the estate, has been campaigning for over two years for a play space to be installed.

When she wrote to Mayor Jules Pipe, she received a reply pointing out that London Fields was only around 500 metres away and that children who wanted to play could go there – comments that the Mayor later qualified, writing: “I appreciate that London Fields might not be suitable for some young people”.

Simon Rix, who heads the Kingshold Play Association and is a director of playground contractors Design and Build Play, said that London Fields was unsuitable as a play space for children because of the presence there of a gang called “The Fields Boys”, who have allegedly warned kids from the Kingshold Estate to keep off their turf. Pat Turnbull echoed Mr Rix’s comments.

“People stay close to their homes here,” Ms Turnbull said. “One child who went to London Fields said he had his face written on by older kids. That might not sound much to an adult, but it is pretty intimidating if you’re a child.”

Ms Turnbull believes the buddleia-covered plot on Tryon Crescent is stuck in limbo. A Council spokesperson confirmed the land has been earmarked for housing but could give no timetable for when it might be built. The Council insists it is not legally allowed to use the land for any purpose other than housing – but the Citizen has seen copies of a council policy document from 1999 that seems to suggest other uses for the land were at that time being considered.

At a public meeting in March, councillors Kate Hanson, Geoff Taylor and Rita Krishna promised to find out about previous proposals for a sports centre on the site. To date, Kingshold Play Association has written twice to the councillors and Victoria Community Association has written once. They are still awaiting replies.

According to Hackney Play Association, “this area was identified in Hackney’s Play Strategy as being particularly deprived of play facilities” – one facility for approximately every 1,200 residents, compared to the next-worst served area with one facility per 600.

Simon Rix is adamant that the site could be used for both housing and a staffed adventure playground, should the Council have the political will, saying: “There’s room for both housing and play facilities here, if that’s how the Council want to do it.”

The Kingshold Play Association was established after a child was knocked down by a driver whilst playing in a street beside the derelict land. The association has staged attention-grabbing events, including one in which colourful posters painted by local children were plastered to the hoardings around the derelict plot.

Pat Turnbull told the Citizen: “Children just play in the street and I don’t really think that’s ideal.”

Residents’ demands for a play space have become more vociferous since the Learning Trust was awarded over £2.5 million of Play Pathfinder funding from the Government Department of Children, Schools and Families. This money will be used in part to create or improve 16 play spaces in Hackney. A spokesperson for the Play Pathfinder Project said the Tryon Crescent site would not be one of the areas to benefit from the cash.