When Tom Smith and his wife moved to a village five miles outside Oxford they thought they had found an ideal place to bring up children.
“There were children out in the street playing all the time – with balls, making ramps for their skateboards. It brought back memories of our own childhoods with hours spent playing outside. That was 12 years ago. But things began to change.
“We lost our bus service during the cuts [under chancellor George Osborne]. That contributed to the growing traffic which got worse as housing pressures pushed people out of Oxford into villages. Then came the rise in delivery drivers, the worst offenders for speeding. Now the idea of children being out on this street is sadly inconceivable.”
When the Guardian community desk asked “Do your children face problems playing outside” some of the hundreds of replies talked about officious warnings from councils or angry neighbours. But most focused on one thing – cars.
Emma Wreyford lives in Bristol with her daughter, who has just turned 11.
“It should be such a lovely age for that sort of outdoor play but it is almost impossible. Here the car is king and public space is there for the rights of the driver to use to store their cars.”
Read the full article on The Guardian
Author: Harriet Grant
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