Apologies in advance, I am on hold to the local Council and am a bit wound up.

Behind our house there is a "green space", which the kids play football on, they are apologetic when retrieving the ball from the garden and, on the whole, polite, in the way that any 8-16 year ever is.

This morning I went out and the Council have directed their staff to rip out 6 trees and put flower beds in, along with 10 new trees (I watched the old trees get shredded), because of ONE complaint.

How can we "wage a war on obesity" or even consider a sugar tax when we deny the basic amenities required to kick a bloody ball! (Labour council btw, so no part politics on my behalf)

Is it a playgorund or is it a garden?

I can't comment in depth on the situation you're reporting, but it sounds bonkers.

In my bit of Hackney, just down our road, there's a public baths that opened in 1904. It was, in my experience, a good, basic swimming baths. In school holidays, it would organise events for local children – which seemed to have a good take up.

However, in 2000, the baths were closed. As it's a listed building, they haven't been demolished, but continue to just sit there. In 2009, there was some talk of a grant enabling it to be reopened, but it remains boarded up.

In the years since, the council has restored and reopened the London Fields Lido, which had itself been closed for some years. Unfortunately, that facility seems to operate on much more restrictive openings – specific age groups etc – so is nowhere near as easy to plan a visit to. I don't know what it does in holidays.

But since Haggerston Baths can't be demolished, it seems bonkers to me that it should simply be left to rot, with (presumably) basic work done on it to stop it being a danger. It's a facility that should have been kept open.

It's also been said that the local football pitches in the park behind us (floodlit, artificial surfaces) now command so much money to use that they are generally only rented by groups of adults rather than being used by youngsters. Youngsters do use the rest of the park, all year round, but it's yet another facility for more organised sport that has become tied to raking in money.

Now I'm light years from being a fan of Hackney Council, but obviously it is facing funding cuts and is pledging to not shut any libraries, for instance. But some of this seems very short-sighted to me.

Equally, I'd point out that there has been an ongoing policy of selling off school playing fields for 30-odd years that is also, I suggest, part of the general picture.

It's neither, was a green space with a few trees, no benches or flower beds etc and no benches going in now, just stuff to stop the kids from playing football.

I used to see such nonsense all the time when I worked in anti-social behaviour enforcement. I could never grasp why people would complain about children playing football (unless they were using the wall of their house as a goal, or something).

Trash the flowerbeds and then get a local travleere to graze his horses on it

Wasn't it Labour that sold off playing fields for houses ?

There's a small plot of land near where I live, it's owned by the council is just grass and a few shrubs. Yet they put up signs saying no ball games and concreted part of it to stop lads playing football there. Just barmy. There's another field nearby but it's so full of dog muck you'd not want to play football on it. Other than that there's sod all for kids to do in the neighbourhood. Then they get complained at for either hanging around on street corners or for going home and playing on their xbox.

Labour continued the policy of allowing the sale of playing fields that had been begun by the Conservative administrations under Margaret Thatcher.

And that was my point, I know the local kids and they know me, one of them fell off his scooter the other day and his friends saw me in the lounge, knocked on the door and I gave him a lift home (with two of his friends in the car also so nothing could be misunderstood), they are good kids, they just need/want somewhere to play, I'd much rather they be out and about than sat playing video games, especially in half term.

I have to be honest, I've been a bit "vigilante" and bought a pair of goal posts from Argos and put them in the area they play in, bolloxs to authority.

That's class.

UPDATE:
Had the parents of a lot of the kids knock on my door yesterday afternoon and evening, all writing letters emails to the Council to protest about the removal of the green space, about 30 letters / emails in all should be hitting or have hit MDC today.

There is talk of trying to get Wimpey to contribute towards making it a fenced off (as in high mesh fence) all weather area with basketball hoops and goal posts, fingers crossed.

Good idea. Then they'll be able to charge £30 per hour to use it.

Nope, not if we get the right covenants etc. agreed.

What have you done with the real Standee?? The real Standee would be out with a net, shouting at the children to come and get the nice, free lollipops



Only kidding, great gesture which I'm sure the kids will appreciate.

Brilliant random act of kindness! I hope you get somewhere with the council.

Thanks, we have made real progress, the area concerned was designated as "ornamental" in the original planning so, we have forced the council to put benches in etc. A bigger area just down the road is now to be designated as a "safe play area", which means swings, goal posts etc. All at Wimpeys cost (and I have to congratulate them on how much they are willing to work with us)

the right complaint in the right way works, if you get someone who is willing to listen.

Excellent.

between the SMC, Mansfield Council and Notts County Council I think they're all waiting for me to go back to work in March, they can't afford to have someone who knows the system inside out using it to their benefit.

as they say "they don't like it up 'em"

Anyways kids dont need exercise, they just need energy drinks

St Helens Council has decided they would like to sell the few green areas around some housing estates in the borough.
There are large boards around but luckily nobody has bought them yet and they remain available to use.

Damn shame it is, i loved playing on fields throughout the year.