Let the children play!

Letter to the Ilford Recorder.

Dear Mr Carter

I found the anti-Green attack on Wilson Chowdhry by Roy A Lewis, in his letter entitled ‘Society so hostile to our youngsters’, to be totally unwarranted and more than a little disingenuous. – Recorder, March 26.

The Green Party, perhaps more than any other, appreciates the important role that children play in our society and for that reason places great emphasis on their freedom of expression through play.

To that end (and many others) The Greens have long been campaigning for better and affordable public transport – to get more people out of their cars – and encourage and support Home Zones and 20mph speed limit roads for many residential areas. In fact this is a policy issue which has now been adopted by the other Parties for example in Islington where (due to a Green councillor holding the balance of power) 20mph zones have recently been agreed.

Nevertheless, until such a time when our streets are made safe once again, there is a time and a place for everything and many other people and factors within a community to consider and we must not forget how noisy children in confined areas can unknowingly make life difficult for, for instance, young mothers and older and disabled people.

However it was Mr Lewis’s blinkered vision in respect of these that afforded him the opening for his strike at Mr Wilson who in his open and frank letter – given the title ‘Go and play football in the park' – Recorder March 19, merely pointed out the problems and dangers faced by children playing in the streets in his area (which sadly do not have 20mph zones) and promoted Redbridge’s parks & green spaces, which also suggests the need for their protection.

Green spaces and areas of play are continually being lost due to the lack of enforcement of the pathetic planning laws that have been handed down by and to successive lazy and incompetent administrations. I can only hazard a guess at which Party Mr Lewis represents but, with regard to areas of play, particularly in the political arena, I suggest that he takes a good, long and hard look in his own back yard.

Yours sincerely

Ashley Gunstock
Leading Spokesperson
The Green Party – Redbridge
Green Party Candidate for the Wanstead by-election


The above letter is in repsonse to this: Click to enlarge.