‘Nowhere I can play’: Disabled children excluded from Welsh parks

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

Nearly four in 10 disabled children in Wales “never or hardly ever” play outside due to a “heartbreaking” lack of accessible parks, politicians have warned.

Rhys ab Owen, an independent, described the situation as “disgraceful” as he cited a Play Wales report showing 37% of disabled children are effectively shut out of playgrounds.

Leading a debate in the Senedd on Wednesday (December 17), he read the testimony of a 10-year-old boy from Blaenau Gwent who said: “Nowhere disabled friendly – parks haven’t got disabled friendly equipment, so I can’t play.”

Mr ab Owen warned: “There shouldn’t be any discrimination… disabled children do face much greater problems in terms of park maintenance, and with accessibility and inclusion.”

He shared the experience of a 13-year-old girl from Newport who told researchers: “There’s nowhere I can play or hang out safely by myself as I use a frame to help me walk.”

‘Wake-up call’

The former barrister warned budget cuts were leading to a managed decline in standards, quoting a 13-year-old from Caerphilly who said: “Due to anti-social behaviour our equipment gets broken, burnt and vandalised and is then not replaced.”

The Conservatives’ Natasha Asghar was stunned by the scale of the crisis and revealed that only 11% of playgrounds in Wales are rated “green”, meaning they are fully accessible. By contrast, almost half are rated “red” for poor accessibility.

Listing the barriers families face, Ms Asghar highlighted that 30% of sites lack accessible paths and nearly one in five have gates too narrow for wheelchairs. “Those are just two of the barriers preventing disabled children from accessing play,” she said.

Jane Dodds, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Wales, argued the shocking statistics should be a wake-up call for Senedd politicians.

“To hear that 37% of disabled children in Wales say they never or hardly ever play outside should be a figure to stop us all in our tracks,” she said.

‘World leading’

Meanwhile, Mike Hedges pointed out that Wales became the first country in the world to put a duty on councils to secure “sufficient play opportunities” for children in 2010.

And Julie Morgan, a fellow Labour backbencher, celebrated Cardiff becoming the UK’s first Unicef-accredited child-friendly city in 2023.

Dawn Bowden, the minister for children, pointed to £5m to improve playgrounds this year but she too was “disappointed” by play satisfaction figures falling from 84% to 71% since 2019.

She said the Welsh Government has provided a “toolkit” to Wales’ 22 councils, “ensuring a holistic outcome-focused approach” to inclusive and accessible play.

The cross-party motion, which called for play to be protected from cuts – as well as improved access for disabled children – was agreed unanimously but does not bind ministers.