We have had a letter this week from Ed Balls MP, the Secretary of State for the Department of Children, Schools and Families, announcing that Camden has been selected to be one of the first wave of the 20 play Pathfinders that will start this April. We will receive capital funding of around £2 million (weighted by child population, deprivation and taking into account regional variations in building costs) over 3 years to develop around 28 pubic play areas, including building entirely new sites if this emerges as a key need identified by the local community. 

The Pathfinders funding will also enable the construction of a large adventure playground or playpark at a cost of around £800k. The authority will have around £600k to spend in 2008, enough to develope around 10 neighbourhood play sites, and to begin to prepare for the development of the adventure playground. 

This capital investment programme has the potential to transform play opportunities for many children in the area. Adventure playgrounds or playparks, supervised by qualified staff make a big difference to children and families, especially in dense urban areas.

There will be a series of regional consultation events this summer on the Play Strategy which will provide a perfect opportunity to get involved. Keep your eye out for details of these events so that you can make your voice heard about how this Pathfinders scheme can benefit residents of Camden.