playmatters

Play Design Grant Cut

In the light of the 50% reduction in the Play Pathfinder Grant imposed by the Government in June 2010 Oxfordshire County Council has been forced to cancel the Play Design Grant to new applicants.

This scheme provided small grants to help groups develop their ideas for improving the play spaces in their communities.

The grants aimed to:

• help groups and organizations develop innovative outdoor play concepts that could then either attract funding or be created by volunteers
• help groups that have been unsuccessful in their attempts to obtain Playbuilder Grant funding to develop their plans
• test the theory that paying for a professional landscape architect or designer is more cost effective in the long term.

Between November 2009 and October 2010 the Council planned to award 24 grants of £2,000 each to help qualifying groups develop their ideas for supporting outdoor play. Twelve of the proposed grants were awarded before the scheme was cancelled.