Councillors discussed the provision of specialist play equipment for North Lanarkshire children with additional support needs during a recent meeting.
Councillor Greg Lennon, seconded by Councillor Barry McCluskey, tabled a motion at the most recent full council meeting.
The motion called for a review of all play areas in the authority to make them more accessible, stating “this Council recognises that play is an important part of all children’s development and more so for children with disabilities, visual impairment, and children with additional support needs.”
The motion also stated that specially designed play equipment was available at just “one or two” parks in the authority area, forcing families to travel to Ravenscraig or outside North Lanarkshire for parks in Giffnock or Grangemouth.
The motion called for one park in each of the council’s 21 wards to be supplied with suitably adapted equipment.
Councillor Lennon said that since first being elected in 2017 he had been contacted by “countless” parents of children with additional needs about the lack of suitable play areas, which also meant their children were unable to be included with others, and read out comments from some such parents who have to spend money on petrol to drive past play parks to find suitable play equipment.
The motion was opposed by an amendment from Labour’s Michael McBride who welcomed the proposed review of play areas but said the Scottish Government had last year an “arbitrary and inadequate” £60m investment in play areas across Scotland.
The council had been awarded around £300,000 for each of the past two years which had been used to refurbish seven sites in the first year with five more due this financial year.
The amendment instructed the leader of the council to write to the Scottish Government seeking funding to refurbish a further 260 play areas in North Lanarkshire.
He was seconded by depute council leader Paul Kelly who agreed the Scottish Government had not provided all the funding it had pledged and added that £141m was needed to refurbish play parks across Scotland.
Following further debate the Labour amendment defeated the SNP motion by a single vote at 38 to 37.
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