Campaigner mum hails £8m council spend on play spaces

A WEST London mum who has been campaigning for improvements to local play spaces has hailed an £8.3million upgrade programme approved by the council.

- By BEN LYNCH

Clementine Wallop, who previously described Hammersmith and Fulham’s playgrounds as “tired and unimaginative”, said the funding is “wonderful news” for families across the borough.

Upgrades include a new water play area at Ravenscourt Park and the borough's parks seeing upgrades to enable them to “compete with the best play facilities in the country”.

Play areas on housing estates will also see investment.

Ms Wallop told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “This is wonderful news for the families of Hammersmith and Fulham, who have for years been underserved on play, and whose play spaces are poorly maintained, unimaginative and often unsafe.

“For me, the biggest win was hearing the council say that this spend is not the end of their efforts, but the beginning of a refreshed commitment to play. With council fully engaged, Hammersmith and Fulham can hope to become a borough that people visit because of the quality of its play provision, rather than a borough residents leave to use better playgrounds elsewhere in London.”