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Playtime dispute
7:00am Monday 8th October 2007
Comments (23)A FURIOUS father has become locked in a dispute with a housing agency over his children's playtime.
Shaun Fitzpatrick, 41, put up a tyre swing on an unused strip of land so that his young children could play within sight of his flat.
"This is the only place that my children and my neighbours’ children can play under our supervision."
Shaun Fitzpatrick
However, the father-of-four's homemade playground has fallen foul of housing provider The Guinness Trust.
Mr Fitzpatrick, who lives off Garretts Way, Downley, has four children aged between four and 15, who all like to play on the swing.
He said: "They have demanded I remove it for health and safety reasons. But this is the only place that my children and my neighbours' children can play under our supervision.
"There used to be a playground 50 yards from my house, but all that is there now is a car park. The Guinness Trust has done nothing for the children who live here. They moan about vandalism from bored kids, but what do they expect our children to do with nowhere to play?"
But The Guinness Trust, which manages 450 homes in High Wycombe from its premises in Mendy Street, argues that the swing is a danger to the children of its residents.
Mike Parkin, the organisation's communication officer, said: "The main issue is that the swing is made up of a tyre fastened between two trees.
"These trees are not big solid oaks. They are quite young trees, and not as sturdy as you might expect. Mr Fitzpatrick may be comfortable for his children to play here, but there is nothing to stop children of other residents from climbing on the swing unsupervised and injuring themselves."
However, Mr Parkin admitted that legal rights over the land are unclear.
He added: "We are not entirely sure who the land belongs to. However, the property's tenant has no claim over it."
Mr Fitzpatrick has now lodged an inquiry with the Land Registry to establish whether The Guinness Trust has any greater claim on the patch than he has.
"I am not going to lie down without a fight," he said. "These are my children and I will fight for them to have somewhere to play."
However, The Guinness Trust is also prepared to enforce its case. Mr Parkin said: "We do not want to be seen as ruining kids' fun, but safety comes first.
"We cannot guarantee the safety of our residents or their children if they use this swing, so unfortunately it must be removed.
He also said they were willing to listen to issues about play area provision for children.
Mike Parkin said: "We are committed to making sure that all the "We are always willing to take onboard what residents think about where they live. All tenants have access to a housing officer, and if Mr Fitzpatrick has any suggestions for provisions for children they would be welcome. We aim to work together to make our residents' lives as good as possible," added Mr Parkin.
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slacker, Flackwell says...
11:21am Mon 8 Oct 07
SL, Bucks says...
11:23am Mon 8 Oct 07
Ivor, says...
11:38am Mon 8 Oct 07
The children should use their imagination and come up with their own games. When I was young we were lucky to have a tire to play with let alone a stick to roll it along with.
tom, marlow says...
11:58am Mon 8 Oct 07
what would that dad do if a child got hurt on the swing, he would be the first to blame someone else
How do you know that?
The housing agency arent responsible for keeping his children amused funnily enough i thought that was a parent's job.
So he's built them a swing. Good for him.
As far as I can see the only issue is whether the trees are nature enough to take the weight. If someone can claim ownership of the trees then they may have a case for asking him not to damage them.
He can take responsibility for his own kids and other parents can make there own judgement. If My kids were playing on someone else's swing, and I didnt think it was safe, I'd tell them not to do it. If they ignore that and get hurt then I get annoyed with my kids not the guy who built the swing.
Lets be realistic, it cant be that dangerous. I dont suppose the swing is hanging over a pile of broken glass or a railway line
Steve, Totteridge Hill says...
12:05pm Mon 8 Oct 07
local, bucks says...
12:06pm Mon 8 Oct 07
erm wrote:aha, but did the box have lid?!!!
They moan about vandalism from bored kids, but what do they expect our children to do with nowhere to play?"same old argument...someone else is responsible for my kids being troublesome, when I was a lad we didn't have a room, there was 24 of us in a box and we had mud to eat.
wayne, wycombe says...
2:18pm Mon 8 Oct 07
People have gone barmy,if kid's don't expose themselves to some risk, then how on earth are they going to appreciate risk and self risk assessment later on in life?
To be fair there is an tendancy in this country to always blame somebody else which on serves the sponging lawyers and ambulance chasing firms, we allow this at our childrens' expense.
Marmite, HW says...
2:51pm Mon 8 Oct 07
Except for Dave. RIP
A fallen soldier
wayne, wycombe says...
2:55pm Mon 8 Oct 07
Marmite wrote:That's the trouble with Marmite, you either love it or you hate it, I definately hate it!
Me and my friends used to play Russian Roulette when we were younger and it never did us any harm. Except for Dave. RIP A fallen soldier
Marmite, HW says...
3:06pm Mon 8 Oct 07
wayne wrote:That's the trouble with people called Wayne, they are always inbred.
Marmite wrote: Me and my friends used to play Russian Roulette when we were younger and it never did us any harm. Except for Dave. RIP A fallen soldierThat's the trouble with Marmite, you either love it or you hate it, I definately hate it!
spiderpig, High Wycombe says...
3:20pm Mon 8 Oct 07
ronnie, says...
3:22pm Mon 8 Oct 07
erm, monty python land says...
5:11pm Mon 8 Oct 07
aha, but did the box have lid?!!!
no lid when I was a lad, that came later. And when I say 'box' it was only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a box to us
tom, marlow says...
5:35pm Mon 8 Oct 07
Kids need to out and about and doing stuff and yeah they will do things that are a bit risky. Is down to parents to keep an eye open, advise (or yell at them) when things are a bit too dangerous, but they won't learn anything otherwise.
I'm much more worried that some nutter is going to hit them with a car than about them falling out of a tree.
Marmite, I can take it or leave it.
Ivor, says...
7:12pm Mon 8 Oct 07
aha, but did the box have lid?!!!
erm, monty python land:You lucky devil, my family was so poor we never could afford the lid.
no lid when I was a lad, that came later
Did you know the soles of our shoes were so thin that if we trod on a coin we could tell if it was heads or tails.
The youngsters of today donÂ’t know how lucky they are. Although it appears that for some bureaucrats even a tree swing is too much to allow a child to have. What have we come to in 2007 England?
wayne, wycombe says...
8:46pm Mon 8 Oct 07
spiderpig wrote:I say, did you think of that all by yourself or did mummy and daddy have to help you with it?
Nothing wrong with marmite Wayne, or is it Mr Kerr?
erm, monty python land says...
10:13pm Mon 8 Oct 07
Did you know the soles of our shoes were so thin that if we trod on a coin we could tell if it was heads or tails.
I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah.
And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you
helens, buckinghamshire says...
7:45am Tue 9 Oct 07
here-we-go-again, wycombe says...
7:57am Tue 9 Oct 07
helens, buckinghamshire says...
8:00am Tue 9 Oct 07
ronnie, says...
9:41am Tue 9 Oct 07
local, bucks says...
10:01am Tue 9 Oct 07
Ivor wrote:SHOES????? eeeeeeee, what luxury!!
aha, but did the box have lid?!!!erm, monty python land: no lid when I was a lad, that came laterYou lucky devil, my family was so poor we never could afford the lid. Did you know the soles of our shoes were so thin that if we trod on a coin we could tell if it was heads or tails. The youngsters of today donÂ’t know how lucky they are. Although it appears that for some bureaucrats even a tree swing is too much to allow a child to have. What have we come to in 2007 England?
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erm, monty python land says...
11:18am Mon 8 Oct 07
same old argument...someone else is responsible for my kids being troublesome, when I was a lad we didn't have a room, there was 24 of us in a box and we had mud to eat.