Schoolgirls call for playground in Filwood

Two schoolgirls have won the admiration of councillors twice over with their call for an adventure playground in Knowle West, Bristol.

Vine Nyahunzi, 15, and Miriam Bimha, 13, received rounds of applause at the city council's children's services scrutiny commission and the cabinet when they read out their appeal.

They urged councillors to heed the messages of the United States president-elect Barack Obama and the UK's children's commissioner Sir Al Aynsley-Green and listen to children.

The girls, pupils at the private school Carmel Christian Centre in Brislington, argued that the council should not have sold Filwood Park to English Partnerships.

"This took place without asking all the children and young people in the area. We fully understand that people need houses, but we think it is very wrong to take away our park, or even to take away part of our park, in this way," they said.

"Filwood is the only formal, proper park in our community, and it should be fully restored, as a park. Many families in Filwood do not have a car, and it is too far to walk to Hengrove with young children.

"We believe that a supervised adventure playground should be built on Filwood Park, just like the ones in Southmead and St Paul's.

"It is wrong that the council has provided these facilities for deprived children across Bristol, but not in our community. This is unequal and unfair. There should be a safe place to play, free from bullying and drugs."

The girls asked councillors: "How can Bristol be the 'Green Capital of Europe', if the council goes ahead and builds houses on our park?"

John Pearce, of the Carmel centre, said there was a desperate need for a staffed adventure playground for children and young people aged 0-19 in Knowle West.

Siting it at Filwood Park would put it within reach of 80 per cent of households in the ward, which is among the most deprived in England, he said.

The council sold the 11-acre park for £4 million earlier this year and plans to use the proceeds for the regeneration of Knowle West.

The campaigning schoolgirls were thanked for their contribution and promised a response from the authority.

Residents the Post spoke to in Knowle West opposed the loss of green space in the area.

David Payne, 72, said: "I don't like that they're selling the playing fields, it's a nice place for the kids to play. We don't like to see green taken away."

Gordon Radford, 75, said: "It's usually people who don't live in the area who do this and couldn't care less.

"We don't want any more building, there's a hell of a lot of it and it's spreading further and further."

Graham Brace, 60, said: "It's terrible. The council said they put leaflets through the door but I didn't see any."