TEMPTING as the chance to corral noisy tykes out of earshot may be, experts are concerned that new playgrounds in disadvantaged areas do not become “play ghettos”.

Children should not be pushed out of sight, but be part of the local community, says Tim Gill, a childhood and play specialist, in Children and Young People Now (Jan 9).

The Government’s forthcoming national play strategy, announced as part of the Children’s Plan, will include 30 pilot areas that will test supervised adventure play parks in deprived parts of the country.

Concerned that they will become a series of “play ghettos”, he says: “It [the strategy] must be founded on a vision where children are active, visible and engaged.”

He wants to see British youngsters able to walk and cycle in their neighbourhoods as freely and safely as those in Scandinavian countries.

Adrian Voce, the chief executive of Play England, agrees, saying that he hoped aspirations for play would be offered to the whole community.

Meanwhile, the youth of Sussex may not be offended when told to take a running jump if plans go ahead for Britain’s first dedicated parkour site, CYPN reports.

Rather than hurl themselves from buildings and street furniture, local free runners would have a more controlled environment to practise high-energy moves made glamorous in the latest James Bond film Casino Royale.

Regen, the organisation behind the plans, says that the town council had agreed in principle to the site, located in a large park on Telscombe Cliffs, near Peacehaven.

“The young people aren’t asking for any more than people who use the park to walk their dogs,” says Liz Lee, chair of Regen. “We moan about young people hanging around on the street corners, so let’s give them somewhere [that] they will use.”

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