A LOCAL children’s charity has accused the council of "social cleansing" after claiming a  new £10 ‘stay and play’ charge to use The Look Out's playground would exclude low-income families.

First Days Children’s Charity reacted to the news of the trial charge on social media, posting a string of tweets which questioned the move given the levels of child poverty near to the popular Swinley Forest play area.

The tweets read: “Is this social cleansing? Many do not have £10 to spend on coffee and may not drive.

"Nearly one-quarter of the children who live in the wards that border this park live below the poverty line.

“Not to mention those who aren’t included in these figures but are now experiencing hardship due to the pandemic.

"Is this park inclusive?! Not for low-income parents."

READ MORE: Why is The Look Out charging for families to use its play-area?

According to data from 2018 commissioned by the End Child Poverty charity, the level of child poverty after housing costs was 22 per cent in Hanworth, 17 per cent in Crown Wood and 26 per cent in Old Bracknell.

In a letter to Bracknell MP James Sunderland and leader of the Bracknell Forest Council, Paul Bettison, Emma Cantrell, CEO of First Days wrote: “The decision to charge for use of the play park is a luxury that many, many parents cannot afford.

Bracknell News:

“Further, this scheme has been implemented under the guise of being necessary for social distancing — it is not. A free to use booking system would have been enough for this.

“Local authority parks are places that families have always been able to go to exercise, have fun and play together regardless of their income.

“This decision actively and obviously excludes many, many families from enjoying the park.

“A local mother commented on First Days’ Facebook about this: ‘When my kids were small and we had no money that park was a lifesaver, pack a little picnic and go there for the day, have a walk around the forest and play in the park and it got them out and gave them exercise and cost nothing’.

“This is a resource that it seems particularly cruel to remove at a time when families are really feeling the pressure of elongated school closures, lack of childcare and hugely increased pressure on their finances.”

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The trial fee comes to £11.14 when booked through Eventbrite and includes:

A 1.5-hour time slot to access The Look Out’s picnic area and playground

Access to the parking area (parking fees not included)

£10 to spend at the Discovery Centre’s takeaway coffee shop

The move was announced late last week and was met with an outcry from local parents, who described the idea as a “money-making exercise”, “ridiculous”, “absolutely horrendous” and more.

But Bracknell Forest Council — which owns The Look Out Discovery Centre — claimed more than 500 people have visited the site since the trial started on Monday, August 17.

Figures from the council indicate more than 1,000 people visited the playground each day in summertime last year.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “To maintain social distancing and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the council needs to safely manage the opening of facilities, particularly those which prove very popular with a great number of people.

READ MORE: Revised fees to be considered for dog-boarders after 37 per cent hike in charges

“We have been trialling a stay and play booking system at The Look Out to help manage safe access to the playground, with over 200 bookings already made.

“However, we are continually reviewing feedback and are grateful to First Days for their input, which we are looking into today.”

Local councillors reacted to the introduction of the scheme on social media.

Bracknell Forest Labour councillor Mary Temperton, who posted on Twitter: “I am totally opposed to the charging to attend a public play area.

“The Look Out has the best play facilities for Children with special needs in Bracknell.”

Responding to First Days CEO Emma Cantrell on Twitter, Conservative councillor Marc Brunel-Walker said it was “insulting” to label the trial as “social cleansing”.