Can I use the playground of a council estate if we don't live there?

[Mummy1608]

Quick question...

I live right outside a really big council estate. (Eg I walk through it everyday as a shortcut to my local train station, that's how close I am and how big it is.) It's got a lovely playground in it with lots of cool climbing bits etc. Can I go there with my DD or do you think it's frowned on if I don't live there, because it's meant to be for residents? I can't find anywhere whether this isn't allowed, but it might be technically allowed but still frowned on? My next nearest playground is much smaller (although always empty) and a 15 min walk away.

Tldr can I take my dd to the council estate playground?

Council estates have service charges aswell and residents pay an annual fee towards general maintenance and cleaning etc (the council doesn't just gift it to you for free!!)

No they don't have service charges, not all the time anyway, it might apply in some cases not all, I couldn't possibly speak for the entire country, no-one can.

But I've never paid a service charge in the 15 years I've lived here so they do indeed 'gift' me my doorstep green for free, or within council tax anyway, and there wasn't even a service charge when I lived in a rented council flat in a purpose built block, which is a good thing really because that place was a dump.

@HadaVerde

Are we really acting like we don’t know the difference between a park and a playground.

Surely you get out enough to know that people have different dialects and use different words for things? 🤣 where I live and it seems to be the same for many others, an area with children's play equipment is called a park. A big public green space with trees etc is also called a park. They're both just parks.

I would never naturally use the word playground to reference the type of place OP is talking about, people where I live would likely only use this in reference school playgrounds.

I'd never use the word playground either. A playground is at school.

Anyone who minds a CHILD having a go on some swings needs to take the stick out of their arse.

I don't live on a council estate but I do live on an estate of private houses built in the early 2000's. The developers included a small playground because that was part of the planning conditions laid out by the council.

People who live beyond the small estate of houses use this playground all the time. Why on earth wouldn't they!!!! It would never occur to me to tell them they couldn't and they would rightly think I was bonkers if I did.

It's a public playground maintained by the council with all our council taxes. Anyone can use it! And the same is true of playgrounds on council estates.

It's often the case nowadays that when a lot of houses are built the council makes the developer pay for and install a playground like the one on our estate as part of planning conditions. Developers make so much money from selling the houses that the council expects them to give something back to the community by installing things like playgrounds. Then once they're built the council pays to maintain them. Similarly, when they built council estate they included play parks cos they're good things to have in a community. That doesn't mean that only the people living in the houses built at the same time can use them! Anyone can use them. They're public property.

And I agree with PPs who suggested that if you weren't allowed to this would be segregation. I work in planning and development and I cannot imagine any planning officers or councillors being impressed by a scheme which only let children from one particular housing tenure play together (appreciate some council homes are privately owned now, but that is still essentially the basis of the approach is still that council estates are mainly council tenants).

@Sandinmyknickers

Live on a council estate and it is absolutely fine, no one minds if other people use the playground

However I do take issue with some people on this thread saying it is ok because it is paid for by public money and 'funded through taxation'. Council estates have service charges aswell and residents pay an annual fee towards general maintenance and cleaning etc (the council doesn't just gift it to you for free!!) Also your council tax goes towards running essential services, not building developments.

So by all means use it, its not privately fenced off, but not because you feel your 'taxes are paying for it'

I think there must be different sorts of council estates.

Council estates near me ( Yorkshire town and city) are now a mixture of council owned and private ex council houses. The private ones are freehold and exactly the same as any other not excouncil house.

There are no annual service charges or fees.

If you are a council tenant you pay rent, just as if you were a private tenant elsewhere.

If you are an owner of an ex council house you pay nothing other than mortgage etc.

The streets are just that, streets. Many lead to non council estate streets, many are main roads with lots of through traffic.

Any shops (and usually the good takeouts) are for anybody, just as on any other street in the town.

The only way you would know they’re council estates is the style of house, newer estates probably wouldn’t be obvious even from that.

Everyone has their own bins, just as any other street.

Also, I grew up in an estate of private housing but regularly played in both the playground on the estate I grew up on and the playgrounds on the nearby council estate. Some of my school friends lived on the council estate so we played in play parks in both areas.

@WutheringHeights66

Of course it’s ok, imagine the outrage if people in naice areas said they didn’t want children from social housing using the park outside their homes.

To the PP who said it wasn’t ok 🙈

This exact thing happened and there was outrage www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/mar/25/too-poor-to-play-children-in-social-housing-blocked-from-communal-playground

Just to stick in - an another who works I this area EVEN in areas where the playground maintenance is paid for privately eg to a maintenance company in a new build development- the parks are STILL public access, and not for residents only.

That's because they're almost always built as an amenity for the whole area (not just the newly built houses) as part of the planning permission.

I see residents in new builds getting upset about this all the time, often because they have been totally misled by the developers.

I'm amazed at this thread. Of course housing estate play parks are for the general public to use!

I grew up in a New Town which is basically a collection of large council estates. Each one generally had a primary school , a small parade of local shops ( called sub centres) , a pub and a small play park. Us kids would spend the school holidays meeting up at a different play park every day. Each park seemed to be known by the thing that was the biggest attraction. So we had the death slide park , the swinging bridge park , the bumpy slide park , the stepping stone park. One was called the aeroplane park and if anyone thinks they recognise the town I'm talking about that last one will possibly confirm it.

I've also never ever heard of making a donation to play at a council play park.

These parks were in addition to the large municipal parks which usually also had tennis courts , crazy golf and boating lakes.

People knock these post war new towns but in the 70's they were awesome places to grow up.

Glad you found that @GingerAndTheBiscuits, you saved me the trouble.

Where I'm from a playground is what you have at school, a park is where the swings and slides are and you call the big park by its full name eg Hyde Park. Where I live now its a playground for the equipment and park for the whole thing.

Also most places here the smaller playgrounds are very clearly for everyone. We mainly frequent the playgrounds in the big parks though as we have several within 5-20 minutes drive.

I have often put a lolly stick or picnic rubbish in one of those large council or business bins - and think that is better than littering or ramming into overflowing bin
I use what ever play Park I like as my taxes have paid for them
If I’m shopping/visiting out of “ my hood” I will use any playpark available to me , never once considered either of those things wrong
How utterly bizarre
This thread should be retitled “ things I thought were always fact but now realise I was wrong “

In london
They tend to be the BEST playgrounds
As council doesn’t know what to do with council estate problems
So pour month in to fancy playgrounds!

@HadaVerde

Are we really acting like we don’t know the difference between a park and a playground.

We have the park ( a playground), the big park ( green space including playground, green space and ice cream van) , Sam’s park ( playground near friend Sam’s house) and little park ( green space, bigger than the playgrounds but smaller than the big park).

I hope that helps.

@HadaVerde nonsense
I moved into a new build development three years ago, all homeowners have to pay towards the maintenance of the development area and playground. And most people who use the playground are non-residents

I'm unsure on this. I used to live on a rough council estate and they built a wooden kids playground on the green in front of the flats for the kids who lived there as most of the people there were deprived and a lot of kids there wouldn't leave the estate other than to go to school. Strangely the estate was in the middle of quite an affluent area and we would get children coming to use the playground. It wasn't a huge deal but it wasn't really for them to use and they had loads of other places they could go, whereas for the kids on the estate that was all they had. I've moved away from there now and though this area is still quite close to me I wouldn't use it because there are plenty of public playgrounds nearby.

@HadaVerde if the park/playground is only to be used by the residents of the estate, then why is there no official sign from the council?

Gates and fences mean nothing, all parks/playgrounds local to me have them. It they really didn't want anyone out of area using them, they would either put a sign up or give all eligible residents an access key and keep it locked!

Absolutely visit. Nothing to say you can't and no one would know who lives where anyway.

We often visit random parks in housing estates as not much around where we live.

The council put them there for anyone to use.

The park nearest to us is on mod housing land and is ran by the mod but anyone even non military families can use it. So you can absolutely use a council ran playground.

Well once more I will just say phone the council and see if you are allowed there. Near me there is a playground - refurbished as part of the refurbishment of the surrounding ( still council owned blocks) & it is inside the buildings with one entrance / exit. - not an ancillary play area - by which I mean not to one side - it is inside the blocks of flats on 3 side - open to the road on the 4th side ) . The council will give you the answer - or just go along and if all well - all is well

Best wishes

Yes. If it's a council one I imagine you can use it...

BUT. A housing association in my town has a settlement of 80 homes by a woodland about 2 miles or so away. They have a 'playground' of their own, and do have a sign on it, saying only people from the Meadows Housing Estate are permitted to use it.

Not sure if other people do or not, but the nearest homes to 'The Meadows' are a good 20 minute walk away, and the home there have their own playground, so I don't think anyone else uses it anyway.

Sounding like a few posters don't want the poor children to play on their naice playgrounds.

Can't believe that this has hit 10 pages. At least it gives some tabloid journalist an easy article.

@BasiliskStare

Well once more I will just say phone the council and see if you are allowed there. Near me there is a playground - refurbished as part of the refurbishment of the surrounding ( still council owned blocks) & it is inside the buildings with one entrance / exit. - not an ancillary play area - by which I mean not to one side - it is inside the blocks of flats on 3 side - open to the road on the 4th side ) . The council will give you the answer - or just go along and if all well - all is well

Best wishes

Unless says “no entry unless resident of this council tax”

Ringing the council would be a total waste of time

I'm a bit confused by this:
Strangely the estate was in the middle of quite an affluent area and we would get children coming to use the playground. It wasn't a huge deal but it wasn't really for them to use and they had loads of other places they could go, whereas for the kids on the estate that was all they had.

What was stopping the estate kids going to any of these other places nearby?