Lottery hands out plenty of play dough for children in Hull

Area:

Yorkshire and the Humber

Programme:

Childrens Play

Release date:

19 2 2007

Over £12 million is being shared by 32 local authorities in England, who will use the money to deliver portfolios of projects that develop, create, improve and design innovative children’s play facilities.

Hull City Council will use the money to set up five play projects across the city to target children living in areas with little or no free play provision. The projects will include taking play on the road with two mobile play teams, building an adventure playground and developing natural free play spaces. The funding will also help create play partnerships to lead on local play provision and finance training to ensure quality free play opportunities are rolled out to children across Hull.

Catherine Law, Play Development Officer for Hull City Council, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for Hull's Children and Young People.  The success of this award shows the confidence in our portfolio, which has been achieved through listening to children and strong partnership work with people passionate about play.  We believe we have the potential to make a real impact on children's lives by providing them with more opportunities to play freely through a wide range of projects.  This funding should be a catalyst for a more secure future for play in Hull."

Vanessa White, Head of Yorkshire & Humber region for the Big Lottery Fund, said: “This investment will benefit Hull’s children, their families and the community, by providing new ways to play and raising awareness of free play opportunities. Every child deserves the right to a fun childhood and play contributes positively to a child’s physical, emotional and social development. With the right play provision, we hope that people will feel confident to allow their children to play beyond the home and to enjoy the wealth of benefits that play brings.”

The Big Lottery Fund’s Children’s Play programme has allocated £124 million to local authority areas, to help improve or develop play provision. To access the funding, local authorities have to develop appropriate play strategies and ensure they work in partnership with local agencies such as voluntary and community groups. Local authorities will use the funding to manage portfolios of local play projects across their areas.

Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone:  845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund will support children’s play with £155 million through:

1. the £124 million Children’s Play programme, with funds available to every local authority area in England;
2. a separate £16 million Playful Ideas programme focussing on innovation; and
3. a £15 million grant to the Children’s Play Council, part of the National Children’s Bureau, to fund England-wide development and support.

• Under the Children’s Play programme, in deciding how best to allocate the available funds to each authority the Big Lottery Fund have allocated: 50 per cent of the funding on the basis of child population, and 50 per cent of the regional population living in the most deprived 20% of Super Output Areas included in the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004. The minimum amount allocated to any local authority is £200,000.
• Under Playful Ideas registered charities; voluntary or community groups; charitable or not-for-profit companies; social enterprises; and town and parish councils can apply. However, other organisations, such as schools, can work in partnership on Playful Ideas projects.
• The Big Lottery Fund awarded a grant to the Children’s Play Council a strategic alliance of organisations working to promote the importance of play and to stimulate better play opportunities. Play England - a project of the Children’s Play Council - lead on this work by helping agencies to develop play strategies and apply for Children's Play funding. For further information please visit www.ncb.org.uk
• The Big Lottery Fund rolls out close to £2 million in lottery good cause money every 24 hours, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.

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