Vehicle access while the road is a Play Street
While a local street is officially closed to through traffic, local people living on the street still have access and parking is not suspended. Parents/residents acting as stewards escort drivers wanting to come in to park or leave at a very slow walking pace. See the 'Guidance notes for drivers using a Play Street' for more details about this.
Guidance notes for drivers using a Play Street (PDF)
Consulting your neighbours before applying for a Play Street
Local consultation is a legal requirement for any road closure. The Council will also advertise the consultation in the press for statutory consultees such as the police and emergency services. Both are a necessary part of the Traffic Management Order to close the road. You should aim to get signatures from at least 70% of households on the street, both supporters and objectors.
Costs
Setting up a Play street won't cost you anything. We cover the cost of the road closure Traffic Order and signage. We also provide high visibility vests to be worn on the day by volunteers and a play kit bag.
Changing the day and time
The road(s) may only be closed for a Play Street on the dates and times specified within the Traffic Order. Changing the day and time of a Play Street will require a new replacement Traffic Order. This would result in an additional cost of £3,000 which would have to be covered by residents.
Ideally you will choose a regular day to hold your Play Street e.g. ‘the first Sunday of the month between 2-5pm’. However if your Traffic Order allows for flexibility e.g. ‘one Sunday a month between 2-5pm’, then you should aim to designate a regular day when you will hold your Play Street. In exceptional circumstances, you can change the date and take this flexible approach e.g. if the date falls on Christmas day. In this instance we would need at no less than 4 weeks written notice of the proposed date/time by contacting [email protected]
There is no obligation to hold your Play Street if you do not wish to, for example if you cannot staff the closure or if the weather is very bad.
Other schemes to help children use our streets
If you are interested in setting up a Play Street around a school, then you may be interested in the Healthy School Streets initiative. Healthy School Streets aims to make the streets outside schools safer at the start and end of the school day and to discourage driving to school. We do this by closing the street to traffic during these times.
