West Yorkshire homebuilder calls for safe play during summer

Now the summer holidays are here, Barratt and David Wilson Homes is encouraging families to utilise local parks, playgrounds, and leisure centres for fun and engaging activities that ensure children’s safety.

In the ‘Children’s People and Nature Survey’ run by Natural England, it was identified that 91% of children and young people surveyed agreed with the statement: ‘being in nature makes me very happy’, showing the strong desire from young people to explore outdoor spaces.

To help parents find suitable locations away from nearby construction sites, Barratt and David Wilson Homes has recommended the following safe spaces:

Local Parks and Playgrounds: Children can enhance their creativity by inventing their own games in a safe space, or enjoying the more traditional activities. Many parks also have playground equipment designed for children of various ages.

Leisure Centres: In addition to indoor and outdoor sports, some leisure centres host summer programmes and activities, providing supervised and structured environments for youngsters.

Walking and Cycling Routes: The locations of Barratt and David Wilson Homes’ communities in West Yorkshire are handpicked to ensure a selection of scenic walks are in proximity, providing sufficient options for safe family outings and physical exercise.

Particularly for children, whose desire to play has a wide range of health benefits. According to Action for Children, as little as 10 or 15 minutes can support their physical and mental development. They should also aim to do 60 minutes of exercise per day, which could range from running, climbing, skipping, jumping or kicking a ball at the park.

With the long summer break providing ample free time, children naturally seek new adventures. However, Barratt and David Wilson Homes is emphasising the importance of staying away from building sites due to inherent dangers such as heavy machinery, uneven ground, and other hazards.

Gavin Birch, managing director said: “We fully support the need for children to play and stay active in their neighbourhoods, but our message for the summer holidays is simply to be safe and avoid going near our live building sites.

“Curiosity and adventure are two important characteristics in a child’s development, but we must highlight the hazards of construction sites and reiterate that children must opt to utilise the public open spaces on our developments instead.”