FIFE’S PLAY SUFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT

November 2023

SUMMARY

What is a Play Sufficiency Assessment?

A Play Sufficiency Assessment is a new requirement. Planning authorities must assess the sufficiency of play opportunities in its area for children to establish needs and demands to be met and communities’ aspirations.

Why have we produced it?

Open spaces, green infrastructure and outdoor places to play are key components in successful placemaking, helping to create pleasant, liveable, healthy and resilient communities. Considering access to quality open space, green infrastructure, and play opportunities as a key part of placemaking can help realise our ambitions for delivering 20 minute neighbourhoods. ( Play Sufficiency Assessment Regulations )

Key Findings

There are a total of 524 play areas across Fife. 444 of these are owned by Fife Council.
There is a total 2,980 hectares of publicly usable greenspace within all the settlements, which can be used for outdoor play. This includes grass areas, parks, woods , natural areas, playing fields. This does vary, Glenrothes has a high amount and Auchtermuchty has a low amount which will have an impact on play. (Fife’s Open Space Strategy is currently being updated.)  
All Fife Council and non-Fife Council play parks were mapped. By clicking on the map, in the Results section, you can view any play park in Fife. You will also see a photograph of the play park and see how it scored.
37% of play areas in Fife are of a reasonable, good or high quality.
Less than 6% of play parks in Fife meet our criteria of ‘High Quality’. These tend to be the destination play parks within the City of Dunfermline, and larger towns such as Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and St Andrews.
63% of Fife’s play parks are of a poorer quality and/or offer limited play value. Mainly because of missing or dated equipment; or often because the equipment only suits under 5s or offers only one type of play activity of e.g a skatepark.
There tends to be at least one good play park per settlement alongside some much poorer ones.
Individual assessments of settlements in Fife showed that most villages had sufficient play opportunities but most towns didn't.
An online survey showed that slightly more than half of children and young people felt that places to hang out and play in Fife were good.
It also showed that whilst 68% of children and young people said they played outside every day or 2 or 3 times a week; 11% only played outside once a month or not at all.
Most children and young people said they played or hung out at playparks or public parks; followed by grass areas, woods and playing fields.
Slightly less than half of adults felt that places for children to hang out and play in Fife were good.
Play parks are only one element of outdoor play
Play parks tend to cater for 0-12 year olds.
Teenagers and young people use play parks to hang out, but their use of space is more diverse, and they will travel by themselves.
In-person sessions revealed concerns around the design of play spaces which too often did not seem to take account of the needs of those who would be using them. This included worries about accessibility but also a lack of challenge in the design, which failed to keep young people stimulated.
Young people have requested better designed play spaces closer to home, opportunities to learn new skills such as fire making or how to skate, and more consideration of the different needs of girls and those with disabilities.
Some of the suggestions young people have made in this consultation to improve their play experience could be incorporated into locally led projects which have an understanding of community needs.
There are possibilities to reimagine how we view play in order to create common ownership of spaces. During the in-person sessions, young people would speak about feeling that they were excluded from play areas, whether through parental concern, poor design or fears about older adults and children.
In more rural locations in Fife, it was often necessary to travel for more varied or exciting play opportunities. For many families this meant being able to drive or having access to a car.

Is there Sufficient play in Fife?

Settlement Play Sufficiency

Settlements in Fife have been assessed for their play sufficiency. There is a limitation to this assessment as teenagers travel about and may use spaces in places where they don’t live.
Very low populated settlements with populations of below 50 people haven’t been assessed. Most villages have play sufficiency (shown in green on map). The larger towns and Dunfermline have play insufficiency (shown in amber on the map). There are a few villages with play insufficiency.

_{Play Sufficiency Assessment Settlement Map Key}

For the larger towns and Dunfermline the reason why there is play insufficiency is due to whole neighbourhoods having poor quality play spaces. Glenrothes has many poor quality play spaces in all neighbourhoods. Although it has high amounts of greenspace and good access this doesn’t fully mitigate the state of the play parks.

For villages with insufficiency the main factors are the quantity of greenspace and size of play spaces. In Auchtermuchty and Cairneyhill, the low quantity of greenspace was more negative than the quality of the play spaces. Craigrothie and Largoward have play spaces, but the size of these sites reduces play opportunities.

The majority of villages in Fife have play sufficiency, with a play space of reasonable quality within walking distance. Unlike settlements of the same size Leven, Methil & Buckhaven (24,000 population) was deemed to have play sufficiency which can be accounted for by the programme of improvements in the last ten years.

Methodology

To assess a settlement for play sufficiency, a number of audits and strategies were used as well as officer knowledge, and the play consultation sessions.

Information used:

Greenspace Audit – settlement statement
Play Sufficiency Assessment – play space quality audit
Play Spaces Strategy – settlement categorisation
In-person play sessions.
The play space quality map of the settlement was used along with the quantity and access to greenspace. The play space categorisation maps were also used to assess walking distance.
Being a play sufficiency assessment, greater weighting was given to the play space quality audit data than the greenspace audit data.

BACKGROUND

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 requires planning authorities to carry out a play sufficiency assessment. This is a new requirement and will be used as evidence for the next Local Development Plan.

Planning authorities must assess the sufficiency of play opportunities in its area for children to establish needs and demands to be met and communities’ aspirations.

Play Sufficiency Assessment Regulations require us to prepare statements as regards the overall

quality,
quantity, and
accessibility of formal and informal play spaces in Fife and each of its town and villages.

The National Planning Framework 4 (www.gov.scot) , approved in 2023, also contains a new policy on play, which recognises that providing quality opportunities for children of all ages to play will benefit their physical and cognitive development and uphold their right to engage in play and recreational activities.

“Children experience a range of health, wellbeing and educational benefits from outdoor play, and learning in, and connecting with nature.

Providing quality opportunities for children of all ages to play will benefit their physical and cognitive development, and uphold their right to engage in play and recreational activities.

The planning system should support development that expands opportunities for play in the public realm and in a range of different types of open and green spaces, and which addresses unequal access to play spaces and facilities" National Planning Framework 4 (www.gov.scot)

A Play Spaces Strategy 2020 – 2030 was approved by Fife Council in August 2021 which dealt specifically with Fife Council play parks. The aim was to have a network of good quality play parks and natural play spaces. At 2021 Fife Council managed 446 sites with play equipment in parks and greenspaces. It was found that:

Most of the play equipment will be at the end of its safe use in the next ten years
Many of the play parks can only be used by children under the age of 5

Fife’s Open Space Strategy is currently being updated.   It was informed by the Fife Greenspace Audit 2010 and Fife Greenspace Strategy Settlement Factsheets, which assessed the quantity of publicly usable greenspace and access to neighbourhood greenspace. The quality of play opportunities in open spaces has been based on the criteria used in the Fife Greenspace quality audit carried out in 2010.

Images of Fife Council Play Spaces Strategy, Fife Greenspace Audit & Fife Greenspace Strategy Settlement Factsheets Documents — Fife Council Documents

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Survey

A survey of all 524 Fife Council and non-Fife Council play parks was undertaken in Spring/Summer 2023.

The survey specifically looked at the quality of play parks. It used a Play Sufficiency Assessment Scoring Guide to assess: -

the site – including access, maintenance, greenspace and comfort
play opportunities by age group and different abilities – including physical, creative and social play for 0-4, 5-11 and 12–17 year-olds
strengths, and
issues

All sites were scored and rated -

Results of scoring - High quality is 70%+; Good quality is 55 to 69%; Reasonable quality is 45 to 54%; Poor/limited play value is <45% — Results of scoring

Mapping

All Fife Council and non-Fife Council play parks were mapped. By clicking on the map, you can view any play park in Fife and see how it scored.

The map allows zooming in and out, panning, identifying features, and the ability to toggle features. You can also search for an address or place. Click on any map feature and a pop-up will appear with the relevant information. Clicking and holding the left-mouse button down allows you to drag the map window to a new position. When in pan mode you can also double-click the left-mouse button over a new location; and the map will zoom in and re-centre on that location. Holding down the Shift Key and drawing a rectangle around an area; will zoom to that location. Press the Home button to return the map to its default map view.

Play Sufficiency Assessment Interactive Map

The Play Sufficiency Assessment used children as a basis for measuring walking distance to neighbourhood greenspace and set an access standard of 250m.

Consultation

In preparing the play sufficiency assessment the planning authority have consulted with:

Children & young people (under 18s)
parents and carers
community councils and such other community bodies or persons whom the planning authority consider should be consulted
the public

Online surveys

Two online surveys were run by Fife Council, from May to Sept 2023, to help determine what opportunities and aspirations there are for open space and play areas in Fife and its towns and villages. A total of 1377 responses were received.

Feedback from Under 18s

Under 18s were asked “Are there places for you to meet with your friends when not in school/clubs? What do you like and dislike about the areas where you can gather and what might you like to see added or improved?”

All schools in Fife were advised of the Play sufficiency Assessment and sent a link to the survey. Youth leaders and groups were also contacted. Social media and websites were used to promote the survey.

Microsoft Forms

603 completed surveys were submitted. Half of respondents were aged 12-17. Responses were evenly split between genders. Most children and young people said they played or hung out at playparks or public parks; followed by grass areas, woods and playing fields. Whilst 68% of children and young people played outside every day or 2 or 3 times a week; 11% only played outside once a month or not at all.

Access was a reoccurring theme. Children and young people most liked where they play or hang out because it is close to home. Natural play (woods, logs, boulders, beaches etc) also ranked highly; as did areas that were fun.

I like that the trees that were cut down were made safe and left for kids to play on

Untidy areas (because of dog fouling, broken glass etc.); areas without equipment for older children; a lack of seating areas or places to hang out (an issue raised by girls and young women); a lack of natural play; broken or old equipment; and people complaining were all given as examples of why an area wasn’t liked. Safety issues in general were raised, including busy roads and a lack of lighting.

Toilets needed. Shelter if its raining so we can still hang out

I have ASD and ADHD and I need adults or friends to remind me to play safely and get to and from the park safely (crossing busy roads)

Feedback from Over 18s

Microsoft Forms

Over 18s were also asked for their views on the quantity, quality and accessibility of informal and formal open and play spaces in Fife for under 18s.

All community councils were advised of the Play sufficiency Assessment and sent a link to the survey. Interest groups were also advised via email. Parents & carers were advised by some schools using an internal Groupcall message system. Social media and websites were used to promote the online survey.

774 completed surveys were submitted. 83% of responses were made by parents and carers. Slightly more than half felt that places to hang out and play were poor. Easy/ local access to play facilities was by far the biggest factor that respondents liked about playparks.

Water play features would be really popular, wheelchair friendly/ sensory equipment like at Pittencrieff Park, assault course style equipment

Respondents raised many of the same issues as the under 18s in terms of problems with existing playparks i.e., a lack of things to do; a lack of natural play; untidy areas, broken equipment, a lack of seating and a lack of lighting.

Quality and safety of play spaces could be vastly improved

In-Person Sessions

ScrapAntics, a Community Interest Company, were engaged by Fife Council to collect the ideas, opinions, and suggestions of children and young people living in various parts of Fife, to support the delivery of a Play Sufficiency Assessment.

From May to July 2023, ScrapAntics consulted with over 150 young people across three age groups (0-5 years, 5-12 years and 12-18 years)

The purpose of the in-person consultation was to find out :

The differences in how children and young people play according to age
What barriers may exist to play and how these may be reduced for children and young people
What children and young people need in relation to play provision

Children playing — Photos of ScrapAntics Play Sessions

Children rolling a blue barrel with a child in it — Photos of ScrapAntics Play Sessions

The consultation was facilitated by experienced play workers and involved eight in-person sessions based in outdoor locations. These were a mix of community and school based sessions. One session enabled play workers to obtain feedback from young people with disabilities or additional support needs.

The locations were chosen following guidance from Fife Council who wished to ensure a geographic spread covering urban, rural and more disadvantaged areas. They were also interested in hearing the views of girls and young women about play provision, as much previous consultation has focused on the needs of boys.

The consultation was delivered using Loose Parts Play (LPP), which involves young people building, sharing and expressing themselves through recycled materials such as pallets, barrels, tubing, tyres, planks and many other resources. The play workers' role was to encourage young people to create their “ideal play space” with the materials, although this was not a prescriptive approach. While playing it was possible to record young people’s responses using audio and written means with questions agreed in advance.

A Summary Report , including a list of the schools and community groups who took part in play sessions, is available. The full Report, can be viewed here . There are some fascinating insights.... older kids do not want sand; they don't necessarily want Wi Fi; the increase in parental tracking; groups of kids in shops might be playing man hunt, or hide and seek with the security guards!

Whilst less surprising, the report confirms issues around parental perception of danger preventing outdoor play; access to locked council-owned facilities frustrating young people; the need for quieter, safer spaces not only for girls but younger and neurodivergent kids; issues around access to play in rural areas and the need for access to public transport.

5.2 What Play Facilities Would Children and Young People Like in their Area? - Popular Choice: Seating/Covered Areas Everyone in the 8-12 age group at Benarty built a den with the LPP materials. They were very aware of the lack of benches and asked for somewhere to just “sit and be”. The older girls said: “see if they had picnic benches we could just sit and chill no fags or drink. We could be seen from home, my maw would feel better knowing she’d see us all and the drinking belters can hide in the woods” There was a recognition that a lack of covered or sheltered areas was an issue for all ages. At Cupar Youth Café young people built a really good sitting area for relaxing. Interestingly, they preferred circular areas for seating rather than facing each other. Some were uncomfortable with direct eye contact. Covered structures were also built by the majority of young people at Bell Baxter High School, “so we can play out when it is raining”. It is possible to make a correlation between the desire to play or hang out in abandoned buildings (popular with many of the participants in this consultation) and the shelter such spaces provide. MANY OPTIONS, FOOD AVAILABLE, SKATE PARK/FOOTBALL PITCH ALONGSIDE, SOMEWHERE COVERED/SHELTERED TO SIT, YM EQUIPMENT, WELL MAINTAINED, ART SPACE, NO SAND, ONNECTION TO ANIMALS, PLACE FOR FIRE MAKING/BBQ, SUPPORTED BY ADULTS WHEN NEEDED, CHANGEABLE/ADAPTABLE — Diagram 5.2 Exract from ScrapAntics Report

Children and young people’s use of public space is often contested, whether by other adults, their peers, parents or sometimes local authorities.(ScrapAntics)

Conclusions drawn by ScrapAntics in-person sessions

The consultation identified several core themes impacting on children’s and young people’s play. There were concerns around the design of play spaces which too often did not seem to take account of the needs of those who would be using them. This included worries about accessibility but also a lack of challenge in the design, which failed to keep young people stimulated. Young people spoke about enjoying discovering non-traditional play spaces which enabled an element of risk to enter their play. There was a recognition that such spaces will be used and what is important remains ensuring young people remain safe. Although young people do want these more isolated spaces they are also looking for supervised activities which support them to develop skills.

Traditional, more established play spaces such as play parks were still used, although certainly for older children this may not be as originally planned. Young people often found other forms of play in skate parks, play parks and similar equipped spaces. An opportunity exists to engage young people in the process of redesigning these spaces to reconnect more fully with the communities who will use them. There are possibilities to reimagine how we view play in order to create common ownership of spaces. Too often during the consultation young people would speak about feeling that they were excluded from play areas, whether through parental concern, poor design or fears about older adults and children. Well- designed play spaces can support increased social cohesion and improved family dynamics. As evidence for this, some families (adults and children) involved in the consultation talked about valuing their local park space because it was easily accessible and visible from their homes.

Play facilities were sometimes poorly maintained and this had a subsequent impact on how young people perceived them. There was an acceptance that equipment would be damaged and not repaired. If local authorities do not value the facilities enough to look after them why should young people engage?

Finally, there were some practical barriers affecting opportunities for young people to play. Free bus passes were not easily accessible for young people in smaller villages. This should be an issue which is resolvable by local authorities. In these more rural locations it was often necessary to travel for more varied or exciting play opportunities. For many families this meant being able to drive or having access to a car.

ScrapAntics have also produced a toolkit describing the experience of play workers from ScrapAntics in delivering a consultation informing Fife Council’s Play Sufficiency Assessment process. The document is designed to provide an overview of the potential positive outcomes and challenges involved in consultation with children and young people aged from 0-18 years, within both school and community settings. The learning from Fife Council’s Play Sufficiency Assessment in-person consultation has been translated into the “toolkit materials”

RESULTS

FIFE WIDE

There are a total of 524 play areas across Fife. 444 of these are owned by Fife Council. In addition, there is a total 2,980 hectares of publicly usable greenspace within all the settlements, which can be used for outdoor play. This includes grass areas, parks, woods , natural areas, playing fields. (Fife’s Open Space Strategy is currently being updated.) By clicking on the map , you can view any play park in Fife and see how it scored.

Only 5.5% of play parks in Fife meet our criteria of ‘High Quality’. These tend to be the destination play parks within Dunfermline and the larger towns of Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and St Andrews. 37% of play areas in Fife are of a reasonable, good or high quality. 63% of Fife’s play parks are of a poorer quality and/or offer limited play value. Mainly because of missing or dated equipment; or limited play value, often because the equipment only suits one age group e.g., those under 5 or because although it might be a good facility it is limited by providing only one play activity e.g., a skate park.

In conclusion, most villages have sufficient play opportunities but most towns don't. In the towns most play parks cater for under 5s. In Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes there are whole neighbourhoods with only toddler play parks. These are often in new housing areas. Fife Council's Play Spaces Strategy is changing this by replacing and consolidating play opportunities on larger sites but this does not apply to non- Council owned sites.

We don’t really hang out together after school because we are inside on our PlayStations. There are lots of small parks around with swings etc but we are not interested in them

Fife-wide Play Sufficiency Rating	Number of sites	Percentage of Sites
High quality play areas (70%+)	29	5.5%
Good quality (55% - 69%)	92	17.6%
Reasonable quality (45% - 54%)	71	13.5%
Poor/ limited play value (<45%)	332	63.4%
Total	524	100%

Fife-wide Play Sufficiency Results

The sufficiency of play in each of Fife’s settlements, which includes open space and play space is summarised below.

SETTLEMENTS

Settlement statements give a rating for play sufficiency in each of Fife's 94 towns and villages. They are based on the survey results of visits to all 524 play parks in in Spring/Summer 2023; as well as information on the quantity of and access to greenspace; the results of the two online surveys run by Fife Council; and the in-person sessions and subsequent Report prepared by ScrapAntics (a Community Interest Company specialising in creative play), on behalf of Fife Council.

01 / 09

Burntisland Links

Boy doing a wheelie on a bike in a skate park in Burntisland

Culross play park

Coastal path Newport-on-Tay

Coastal path looking towards Newport-on-Tay with the Tay Bridge, field and blue sky

Memorial Park, Thornton

Ravenscraig Park, Kirkcaldy

Earlsferry Beach

Cycling in Fife

Falkland Estate

Pittencrief Park

Results of the play space survey

Click on the link below to view the results for each play park in Fife. There tends to be at least one good play park per settlement alongside a number of much poorer ones (see examples below).

Play Sufficiency Assessment Scores

Click the map above to view the results for your town or village or individual play park.

Positives	Negatives
- Most children play outside and seem content - There is access to greenspace for play - There are good play parks - Fife Council has a play space strategy and continues to invest in play parks - Bus passes give teenagers more freedom to access areas to hang out and play - There are good greenspaces, town parks and beaches	- The amount of play parks exclusively for toddlers - Litter and vandalism - Safety concerns - Poverty, preventing access to play opportunities - Private owners of play parks only being liable for 5 years for maintenance - Parental safety concerns preventing children and young people from engaging in outdoor play - Opportunities for teenage girls e.g. seating areas to hang out and socialise - A lack of inclusive play opportunities out with the destination parks - A lack of facilities, e.g toilets and benches

Positives

Negatives

- Most children play outside and seem content - There is access to greenspace for play - There are good play parks - Fife Council has a play space strategy and continues to invest in play parks - Bus passes give teenagers more freedom to access areas to hang out and play - There are good greenspaces, town parks and beaches

- The amount of play parks exclusively for toddlers - Litter and vandalism - Safety concerns - Poverty, preventing access to play opportunities - Private owners of play parks only being liable for 5 years for maintenance - Parental safety concerns preventing children and young people from engaging in outdoor play - Opportunities for teenage girls e.g. seating areas to hang out and socialise - A lack of inclusive play opportunities out with the destination parks - A lack of facilities, e.g toilets and benches

Chute and balance toadstools at Tarvit Park, Cupar play area — Examples of higher quality play equipment/areas

Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy outdoor gym equipment — Examples of higher quality play equipment/areas

Poorer play facilities at Castle Terrace, Kennoway — Examples of poorer quality play equipment/areas

Poorer play facilities at Savoy Park, Methil — Examples of poorer quality play equipment/areas

NEXT STEPS

This is a moment of significant opportunity for children and young people across Fife. They have contributed their thoughts and ideas to a document which will help to inform future planning of play provision by the local authority. Now is the time to be ambitious through involving these young people and others across the region in meaningful engagement around play space design. (ScrapAntics 2023)

How do we create a more playful Fife?

We will:

Share the Play Sufficiency Assessment with those consulted i.e., schools; youth groups; parents & carers; community groups etc.
Submit the Play Sufficiency Assessment to the Scottish Government as part of the evidence base for the next Local Development Plan.
Brief Councillors; Community Councils; Community Managers and Area Community Development Teams; Education & Childrens Services; Youth MSPs etc.
Set up an internal mechanism to consider how to improve play sufficiency across Fife for all children and young people. Issues that may require further consideration include:

- how to design public spaces to reflect diverse playing needs

- how to ensure better play and open space provision for teenagers; girls & young women; and groups and individuals with particular needs

- how do we improve use of the public realm for children and young people

- how do we enhance opportunities for natural play

- the continued, removal of old & broken play equipment and consolidation of play facilities within a settlement

- consider how current planning legislation and planning decisions impact on future provision – how do we prevent the provision of lots of small play parks with equipment for under 5s only

- consider alternative ways housing developers could contribute to community play facilities

- consider ways to improve privately maintained play facilities (e.g., dialogue with development management; housing developers and factors).

Consider wider involvement of children and young people in decision making about places to hang out and play.
Monitor and review play sufficiency in Fife as part of the review of future Local Development Plans, every 10 years.
Consider more in-person play sessions in future play sufficiency reviews, given the value of the qualitative information gathered. Note the resource implications of repeating this exercise in more towns and villages.

Many of the suggestions young people have made in this consultation to improve their play experience could be incorporated into locally led projects which have an understanding of community needs. Young people have requested better designed play spaces closer to home, opportunities to learn new skills such as fire making or how to skate, more consideration of the different needs of girls and those with disabilities and better relationships with adults in their area. Each of these actions can be delivered through community led initiatives which bring together adults and children to create collaborative approaches to play space design. (ScrapAntics 2023)

Raw materials used for play sessions like chairs, wood, cones, tubes and suitcases — Photos of ScrapAntic Play Sessions