Play_Park_Strategy_2021-2030

53 In addition, it states that there appears to have been no consideration of the development of a network of facilities which would provide opportunities for children of different age brackets or abilities, including those living with a disability. This finding suggests that in some instances there has been an ad hoc and reactive response to a need within the community rather than adopting a pro-active intent, guided by predictable and foreseeable development within urban and rural communities. A consequence of this previous approach of unplanned play park development and in conjunction with limited facility equipment development has resulted in a significant number of poorly equipped smaller facilities in locations of little demand. Proposed strategic provision Number of children under 15 years of age; Deprivation; Child poverty; and Households without access to a car. The Council has approached the provision of play parks by developing a clear rationale based on accurate data on a Ward and settlement basis to establish and ensure fair and equitable provision across the district. This process considered and accounted for the following factors: Ward analysis In the interest of data availability, robustness and synergy with the Council’s internal boundaries, the analysis was undertaken at Ward 2014 level. All data were sourced from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and are publicly available. Need was calculated through bringing all 4 factors outlined above together to form a single weighting factor for each Ward. This was then used to calculate an ‘equivalent number of children’, with areas of greater need having children mathematically boosted, and areas of less need having children mathematically reduced.