Commissioned by ESP Play, The Play Gap Report has been compiled by a group of passionate people who care about the future of young children here in the UK.
Together we have set out to highlight the importance of play to a child’s development while exposing the decline and neglect in community playgrounds across the country.
The Play Gap Report reveals data gathered from Freedom of Information requests showing that some councils had made significant cuts to spending, with councils in Slough (88 per cent) and Aberdeenshire (86 per cent) the top two.
York and Manchester made cuts of 59 per cent and 35 per cent with another London borough, Richmond, reducing its spend by 52 per cent.
Also in the top ten were Hillingdon Borough Council with a 62 per cent drop and Gateshead who made cuts of 42 per cent between 2018/19 and 2022/23.
The report showed regional disparities and found that average annual council spending on playgrounds varied wildly – from more than £600,000 in Yorkshire and Humberside – to £197,000 in the North East.
East Midlands, West Midlands, South West and North West made up the rest of the bottom half of the table.
The report concluded that the lack of outdoor play provision could be detrimental to children’s mental and physical health and called for government, councils and developers to ensure that safe, high quality playgrounds were available for all children.
ESP Play Managing Director Andrew Wood said: “Ensuring equitable access to quality play spaces is crucial for nurturing healthy, resilient communities. We have long campaigned for more funding for play spaces as we know how vital they are for the health and development of children.
“We are calling on the government, local authorities and property developers to pay more attention to this essential part of the lives of our young people and to commit to making comparatively small changes to make a huge difference to the lives of children.”
Professor Helen Dodd, of Play England, said: “Children who spend more time playing, especially outdoors and adventurously, have better mental health and are more physically active.
“Children’s play opportunities are affected by the environments around them, with some environments facilitating active, adventurous, engaged play, and others discouraging play.
“It is therefore really important that children have access to places that support their play such as playgrounds.”
To download the full report click here:
Top 10 councils with the biggest fall in spending
| Councils | Spend in 2018/2019 | Spend in 2022/2023 | Percentage Difference* | Percentage Change* * |
| Slough | £95,587 | £11,537 | 156% | -88% |
| Aberdeenshire | £482,557 | £69,567 | 149% | -86% |
| Glasgow | £327,279 | £106,219 | 102% | -68% |
| Bexley | 154,683 | £40,916 | 116% | -74% |
| Hillingdon Borough Council | £342,772 | £129,216 | 98% | -62% |
| York | £251,000 | £103,000 | 84% | -59% |
| Manchester | £237,859 | £154,083 | 73% | -35% |
| Richmond | £231,590 | £110,780 | 70% | -52% |
| Hartlepool | £136,000 | £47,000 | 59% | -65% |
| Gateshead | £237,517 | £137,902 | 53% | -42% |
*The Percentage Difference is the percent difference between two positive numbers greater than 0. Percentage difference shows the difference in percentage between two numbers.
**The Percentage Change shows the difference relatively, from an old number to a new number. This is the percentage change.
Average Annual Council Spend on Playgrounds
| Rank | Region | Average annual spend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yorkshire and Humberside | £671,643 |
| 2 | Scotland | £565,971 |
| 3 | South East | £554, 296 |
| 4 | East of England | £475,398 |
| 5 | London | £391,166 |
| 6 | West Midlands | £282,686 |
| 7 | South West | £270,484 |
| 8 | East Midlands | £2224,193 |
| 9 | North West | £202, 405 |
| 10 | North East | £197,948 |
*FOI Requests were submitted on behalf of ESP Play on 12th January 2023. 146 out of 187 councils responded, securing a 78% response rate.
