The car park at the front of BITMO’s offices has been used as a play area for years. When the office is shut parents bring their children to ride their bikes and scooters there. Young people sit on the steps to shelter from the rain and use the Wi-Fi. And BITMO has run events in the car park every summer for the last 4 years. We have had sport sessions, beach days, theatre shows, and for 10 days we had a playbox – a shipping container filled with outdoor games and crafts.
Could we do more to make the car park an official play area outside office hours? Every weekend and in the early evening?
Here are a few ideas. We could:
* extend the Wi-Fi to the car park and grass area
* put benches and a litter bin under the trees
* put floor markings like hopscotch and race tracks
* put a sports wall (football goal, cricket stumps, basketball hoop) at the end opposite the container with a 3-metre fence to stop balls going onto the road
*put outdoor games and crafts in the container, and bring them out for organised play sessions. This is known as a “playbox”.
We asked a contractor who work for Leeds Parks to show us everything that they could supply in the area. No-one is saying we would have all of it – these are just to get an idea of what is possible.
Before anything happened we would consult parents and families, young people, local residents – and we would have to secure money for example from charities or Council grants. Nothing has been agreed – no funds, no designs. We are trying as many ideas as possible this summer, before working on the project in the autumn.
We will be asking parents and children for their views during the summer activities at BITMO’s GATE.
Here are 3 views of some of the things that could be put in the car park.
What do you think? Would you like to see the car park used as a play area? And if so, what would you like to see in it?
