The Loughborough Junction Action Group (LJAG) and local volunteers have reopened an adventure playground that had been closed for three years after its funding from Lambeth council dried up.
They worked hard for more than a year to reopen the Grove Adventure Playground in Gordon Grove, off Minet Road (SE5 9DT).
The playground was getting increasingly derelict until LJAG stepped in and recruited a dedicated band of volunteers who felt passionately that children and young people in Loughborough Junction desperately need supervised play.
LJAG chair Anthea Masey said that after recent events, including a fatal stabbing in Minet Road that led to a young man being flung off the back of a scooter in the streets of Camberwell, parents did not feel that it was safe to let their children out in the streets.
Now, she said: “The Grove is providing a safe place, staffed by four experienced playworkers.”
She said that this was “a truly a good news story” and also a tribute to local councillor Matt Parr, who died recently. He had been very supportive of LJAG’s efforts to reopen the playground.
Funding for the reopening came from The People’s Health Trust and the Fresh Leaf Foundation.
The playground’s outdoor kitchen was built recently thanks to the efforts of Build Up, a charity that does building projects with young people.
The kitchen will be finished during the October half term holiday, but has already hosted one event.
LJAG has a three-year lease from Lambeth council for the playground. The council has waived the rent of £1,500 a year while LJAG provides play schemes there.
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