AIBU to think nursery staff should not cordon off a public playground?

[mumofboysinlondon]

I took my almost 3-year-old and baby to a small playground this morning, and while we were there a nursery group came along. So far so normal.

The staff with the group then added chains to the two gates to stop their kids from escaping, and roped off some of the climbing frame.

I was a bit annoyed by this - the roped off areas included the fireman’s pole and a rope ladder which my kid loves. Obviously this is a space designed for small children so it is inherently pretty safe… The locks on the gates also confused a number of other parents trying to get in, although they could be opened relatively easily by an adult.

I did speak to the member of staff and asked if they really needed to do it and she said it was the health and safety policy of the nursery. I didn’t want to kick up a fuss and we left after a bit.

AIBU in thinking this was a bit out of order - it’s a public playground.

several boot camps started using my local park. Didn’t want to go on the wet grass
so they would set up on the carpark or take over the only path for their sprints, glaring, tutting and forcing you out the way if you tried to use the path to walk on. They’d use another section of path to lay out weights so you’d have to hop over them if you didn’t want to go on the grass yourself. They would also attach bungees to playground equipment and fences then run forward using the bungee as resistance. They would make use of the carpark not being used for tyre pulls for parking their own cars and use the toilets there too. The leader would also bring a boom
box and play loud music. On the one hand it’s great to exercise and this is how Joe Wicks got started. On the other, this was a business making profit .Not a nursery but the same principle of using public resources for private gain for the detriment of other public users.

I’d speak to the park owners (it’s mandatory to have their details on a sign in the park). Attaching items to fences, locking gates, adding random ropes to the playgroup would all breach ROSPA inspection rules and wouldn’t be allowed.

A lot of properties you can visit the grounds for free and only have to pay to go in the house or whatever.

Id have moved the weights to the grass.

How do you *block " areas of the park?

@Prancingpickle who told you it is perfect legal to block off areas of a park? We take quite regular enforcement action against commercial companies (I.e any nursery) who does this without a licence agreement and full insurances being provided. It invalidates council insurance.

I'd agree with them during a school term if permission was granted, not during school holidays.

It’s a bit like dog walkers using public parks for free to walk the dogs they are being paid to look after. Some of the dw in my local park * have up to 7 to 10 dogs. They can’t possibly keep track of all the pooing so unless someone spots one of their charges having a crafty crap and asks them to pick it up they are wandering through a public space trailing dog poo and wee behind them. It’s an area used widely for organised football at the weekend. I would also worry if my dog was with them, a lot of the dogs are off lead and although they always look well behaved something could spook them and they would be off.

I have no objection to people walking their own dogs there btw, but if you are running a business it’s a bit different. Cab drivers don’t rock up to garages and demand free fuel, cafe owners don’t expect Tesco to donate tea, coffee beans and oat milk to them.

*Just to make it clear it is not exactly a city park , it is a huge expanse of what was once a forested area, now owned and run by a very wealthy city corporation but tied up with water tight covenants so it can never be built on and commercial use is very strictly restricted.

They are CF. I remember a thread on here where OP wanted to sit at a bench in a park, and some CF parent had put tape on all the benches as they were going to have a party for their child.

Public parks are for everyone. A dog walker is not reserving bits of it to walk dogs. If they are not picking up poo, then that is on them.

My point is that they are using a public area to run their business for free and potentially damaging it/ causing inconvenience to other users. Just as the nursery were using a public space for their own ends, and the boot camp were taking over a public space. Public spaces are not up for commercial gain otherwise every park in the country would be plastered with hot dog stalls, people selling kids toys, home made cakes, hand knitted tea cosies, t shirts etc………..

I know people who have lots of dogs that they own.
How is walking a big pack of your own dogs different to someone who is doing it as a business?

Can you post what legislation bans dog walkers from using public parks? Or just admit you are making things up.

Yes, I would also have removed the ropes!

Where I live there are actually by laws on how many dogs you can have in a public place as well as needing to always be able to produce a poo bag of requested. Commercial
dogwalkers complain about this.

Is that in the UK?

Where did I say that what the dog walkers were doing was illegal? Anti social and venturing heavily into cf territory yes, but illegal ?

If people want to walk large packs of their own dogs in the park off lead that’s up to them if the dogs run off or crap. I would want someone being paid to walk my dog to do so responsibly.

Yes, UK, England

Can you please post the legislation about dog walkers not being allowed to walk dogs in public areas. Thank you.

I am pretty sure any dog walker has to have poo bags on them now. That was made law a little while back.

Sorry Xenobitch. Can’t help you as I am not a lawyer, and as I wrote before I don’t know if the dog walkers were acting illegally. Go and froth elsewhere 🐕🐩.

No that's not ok.

If they're not confident in their ability to supervise the children adequately in the area then they maybe shouldn't be there.

Having poo bags , and using poo bags are two different things. As is taking a full poo bag and putting it in a bin or hanging it in a tree.

Public spaces are not up for commercial gain otherwise every park in the country would be plastered with hot dog stalls, people selling kids toys, home made cakes, hand knitted tea cosies, t shirts etc………..

A bold statement to make then.

Ha yes, I never understood why people would hang them in trees.

23 years as a nursery worker. That's bizarre what they should do is have a staff member at the entrance /exit. If equipment is not suitable for the ages they shouldn't be there.