In Spring 2023, Playing Out joined with allies to ask for a Parliamentary Inquiry into Children and the Built Environment. Our proposal to the Levelling Up select committee pointed out that children’s health and wellbeing is at crisis point in the UK, hugely exacerbated by poverty and inequality. To address the root causes of this, it is crucial to create a shared public (and policy) environment that considers and meets children’s need for everyday outdoor play, physical activity, social interaction and independent mobility.

A significant moment

This subject has never before been the focus of a select committee – and has never been more needed – so it was a hugely significant step forward for children when the Inquiry was announced in November. Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee chair, Clive Betts MP, said:

“It’s important for children and young people’s mental and physical health that they have access to spaces to play and to socialise.

“In our inquiry, we want to find out more about how children and young people experience outdoor spaces in towns, cities and rural areas across England. What policy interventions from local and central government could help to deliver streets, estates, villages, neighbourhoods and parks that enable kids to enjoy active outdoor lifestyles and engage with others?”

Expert evidence

We rushed to get the word out and encouraged people to respond to the evidence call before the 2nd January deadline. We also – of course! – submitted our own evidence, focussing on children’s need to play out safely on their doorstep, in streets and on housing estates, as well as to have more freedom to get around and access their wider neighbourhoods. We talked about the success of the resident-led play street movement (over 1,600 across the UK) and how this model shows clearly what children need and want in their everyday lives: to play out with other children in a safe space near home, and to be part of their community.

Collective voice

With our expert friend Tim Gill, we also co-ordinated a joint statement to the inquiry signed by 26 organisations and experts with a common interest in children’s wellbeing. This concludes:

“Children’s needs in the built environment have been ignored by Government policy for too long, resulting in enormous damage to their health, happiness and wellbeing – and incalculable cost to society. This now needs to change. The positive impact of prioritising children’s needs in this area could be enormous. Many organisations and experts would gladly contribute to developing a new Government policy approach to children and the built environment, ensuring children can safely access the space outside their homes and across their wider neighbourhoods, giving them the free play, social contact, freedom, healthy development and physical activity they need and benefitting society as a whole”.

What next?

The oral evidence sessions are expected to take place over the next few months, with the report and recommendations published in the Spring. The Inquiry represents a golden opportunity to create real policy change to prioritise children’s safety, health and wellbeing in the planning system and across government departments – with real impact on children’s lives. It’s the moment and we’re (more than) ready for it!