Harriet Grant

Hackney Council plans to demolish the Keith Miller sports pitch to make way for 400 new homes, including two‑thirds for social rent, prompting concerns from local campaigners who say young people will lose an essential free‑to‑use play space. Community members describe the cage as a unique, self‑governing environment that supports youth development and social cohesion in an increasingly polarised area. While the council promises a new astroturf pitch and interim arrangements with a nearby school, residents fear the loss of informal, accessible play. The redevelopment reflects broader tensions across London, where infill housing projects often target valued community spaces amid high homelessness and demand for social homes.

Emily’s father, Mark, was arrested after undercover police found him describing the sexual abuse of his daughter in online sex chats, despite Emily and her mother Fiona insisting that no physical abuse had occurred. The sexual-assault allegations were dropped, and prosecutors later abandoned a communications offence because they believed they could not prove the messages were legally indecent or obscene. Mark therefore avoided conviction, monitoring and registration as a sex offender, leaving Emily and Fiona feeling that the law had ignored the harm caused by his fantasies. Legal experts and politicians argue that online communities and pornography depicting incest or children can normalize and escalate abusive interests. Emily is campaigning for a specific offence covering the advocacy, counseling or glorification of child sexual abuse in text, while recent parliamentary amendments have targeted some forms of step-incest and child-role-play pornography.

The Court of Appeal ruled that Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman acted unlawfully when he attempted to remove low-traffic neighbourhood schemes in Bethnal Green, Shoreditch and Columbia Road. The schemes formed part of a Transport for London-backed traffic strategy, limiting the mayor’s authority to abolish them. Road-safety campaigners, supported by NHS trusts and school headteachers, said the decision vindicated their efforts, while Tower Hamlets Council expressed disappointment and plans to seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Green MP Siân Berry says the Green Party is entering a decisive period after winning four parliamentary seats and doubling its membership to more than 140,000 under leader Zack Polanski. She credits the party’s growth to years of organizational work and broader campaigning on issues including austerity, workers’ rights, social security, climate and wealth taxation. Berry argues that the four Green MPs can represent progressive voters more freely than Labour or the Liberal Democrats, while challenging Reform UK’s appeal by promoting hope, community-building and collective action. She also criticizes Labour’s environmental record and says pressure from major housebuilders is weakening climate and nature protections.

Thousands of homes in England are being built without promised or necessary amenities such as playgrounds, shops, nurseries, schools, community halls, public transport and GP surgeries. At the Paddocks development in Essex, a playground remained fenced off three years after residents moved in, while Westvale Park in Surrey only secured facilities after the council halted construction and required developers to provide roughly £12m in bonds. Campaigners argue that the planning system allows developers to prioritise housebuilding and profits, often creating car-dependent estates in poor locations. Developers and the government say infrastructure obligations depend on approved plans and that rules are being strengthened. Councillors fear further deregulation could weaken their ability to compel timely delivery of community facilities.

Headteacher Tina Farr has made play-based learning central to teaching in an Oxford primary school, extending it beyond reception and combining national-curriculum content with guided games and imaginative activities. The school has also replaced fixed furniture in a year 5 classroom with flexible seating, allowing children—particularly neurodiverse pupils—to move and learn in ways that suit them. Teachers report improved self-regulation, concentration and engagement, while Farr argues that schools should update traditional classroom practices in light of child-development research. The approach received a positive response during the school’s Ofsted inspection and is presented as relatively inexpensive and replicable elsewhere.

A Raising the Nation Play Commission report warns that children in England are losing opportunities for outdoor and independent play, contributing to increased sedentary behaviour, screen use, obesity and declining wellbeing. The commission calls for a national play strategy backed by £125m annually, a statutory play-sufficiency duty for local authorities, a ban on “no ball games” signs, restoration of play in schools and raising the digital age of consent to 16. Children, campaigners and experts cite traffic, reduced youth services, underfunded playgrounds, costly activities and school pressures as barriers, while Finland is presented as an example of play-centred education. The government says it recognises the importance of play and nature and highlights investment in greener school spaces and grassroots sports.

MPs and campaigners are calling for a legal “play sufficiency duty” in England requiring space for children to play in new developments and embedding play in planning, housing, education and health strategies. Labour MP Tom Hayes plans to seek an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, with developers’ section 106 contributions potentially funding inclusive playgrounds. Play England argues that informal play spaces in streets, estates and parks remain vulnerable, while campaigners warn that planning deregulation could further reduce green and doorstep play areas. Wales and Scotland already have comparable frameworks, whereas England’s National Planning Policy Framework protects only formal play spaces through guidance rather than law.

Campaigners warn that thousands of playing fields could be vulnerable if the government removes Sport England’s status as a statutory consultee in planning decisions under the proposed national planning and infrastructure bill. Sport England says it protected more than 1,000 fields in 2022–23 and that it responds rapidly while objecting to only a minority of applications. A Birmingham case illustrates its role: an appeal prevented Persimmon from building 180 homes on Barrow Lanes Fields because replacement provision was inadequate. The government says playing fields will remain protected and that reform is needed to accelerate homebuilding, while some Labour MPs and community groups argue that local sport and play infrastructure must not be sacrificed.

More than 850 men a month are arrested for online child-abuse offences in England and Wales, with police and treatment professionals reporting a rise in younger offenders. Interviews with convicted men, offender specialist Michael Sheath and research from Protect Children suggest that heavy pornography use, exposure to increasingly extreme material and algorithmic recommendations may facilitate some people’s progression to child sexual abuse material, although the article stresses that pornography is not universally a gateway and that personal responsibility remains essential. Pornhub rejects claims that its algorithms deliberately push users toward abuse-themed content and defends its moderation systems, while campaigners and experts argue that age verification and regulation under the UK Online Safety Act do not adequately address violent, incest-themed or youth-oriented legal pornography. The article concludes that earlier support, stronger safeguards and intervention before offending are needed to protect children and reduce the growing burden on police and families.

London Sport has launched a campaign on the Mursell estate in Stockwell to cover “no ball games” signs with positive alternatives, arguing that thousands of such signs across London discourage children from being active. The campaign, supported by Lambeth Council and designed with Saatchi & Saatchi, comes as national data shows 52.7% of children do not achieve the recommended 60 minutes of daily exercise. Residents including Jasmine Hoffman say signs installed by housing association L&Q restricted doorstep play and were introduced without proper consultation. L&Q says the signs followed complaints about noise and damage and is arranging a meeting with residents, while campaigners call for stronger play policies, better facilities and broader recognition of children’s right to play near home.

Parents at St Peter’s primary school in Belgravia are angry after Westminster City Council advised that a proposed playground extension onto Lower Belgrave Street would not receive planning permission. The school has only 170 square metres of play space for 200 pupils, and parents raised £100,000 for design and feasibility work, including £84,000 from the council. Planning officers cited the loss of highway space, parking and traffic access, streetscape concerns, and potential harm to the conservation area and the listed Clermont Hotel. The council said the hotel view was not the primary issue and argued that the road was unsuitable for a playground, while campaign leader Rebecca Bryant disputed its account and said children’s health and wellbeing had been subordinated to heritage and parking considerations. Former MP Clive Betts said the dispute illustrated how children’s needs are often overlooked in planning policy.

The High Court rejected Save Our Safer Streets’ challenge to Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman’s decision to remove three low traffic neighbourhoods in Bethnal Green, ruling that the council had followed proper procedures. Rahman said the removal fulfilled his electoral mandate and addressed congestion and pollution concerns on main roads, while campaigners argued the schemes improved air quality and road safety and had broad support from schools, health services, residents, TfL and police. The group, which raised nearly £80,000 for the case, says it has grounds for an appeal and is seeking further funding. The ruling concerns the legality of the decision rather than whether removing the schemes was substantively right or wrong.

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman is facing a judicial review over his decision to remove three low-traffic neighbourhoods in Bethnal Green. Save Our Safer Streets argues that the removal would worsen air pollution, endanger children and breach government guidance, while Transport for London and Barts NHS health trust support retaining safer walking and cycling infrastructure. Rahman and Tower Hamlets Council maintain that the schemes displaced congestion and pollution onto vulnerable residents and that their removal has a democratic mandate. The court will assess whether the consultation and decision-making process was lawful.

Leicester City Council plans to withdraw its entire £1m annual funding for the city’s nine remaining adventure playgrounds amid a projected £60m budget shortfall, forcing several sites to issue redundancy notices and prepare to close in September. Playworkers and families say the playgrounds provide vital free activities, meals and safe spaces for children from deprived communities, and warn that closures could expose them to isolation or unsafe environments. The council blames more than a decade of government cuts and urges providers to find alternative funding, while playworkers argue that secure, long-term leases or community asset transfers could help them attract funders. Goldhill may survive through an alternative-education school, but expects reduced playground access and fewer meal services.

The podcast features Kevin Bacon discussing his music, politics, family, adapting to change and learning selflessness. It also examines men who regard their pornography use as progressing from compulsion to addiction, and explores the demands and rewards of working as a private tutor for wealthy families, including a role advertised with potential earnings exceeding £2 million.

Men who describe themselves as addicted to pornography recount decades of secrecy, compulsive viewing, emotional isolation, relationship breakdown and sexual difficulties. Therapists and counsellors argue that problematic use can cause serious suffering and requires better prevention and treatment, while the World Health Organization currently classifies it as compulsive sexual behaviour rather than addiction. Researchers caution that evidence on pornography’s effects remains difficult to interpret, particularly among young people exposed to it early, and advocate improved sex education, sexual literacy and less shame rather than blanket condemnation or abstinence-only approaches.

Fairlight Primary and Nursery School in Brighton has expanded children's opportunities for outdoor play by using a local park for football and transforming its small playground into an adventure play space with help from Opal Play. The school is responding to broader shortages of green space, staff time and funding, which particularly affect children who lack outdoor space at home. Headteacher Damien Jordan argues that reduced playtime and curriculum pressures disadvantage state-school pupils compared with children at private schools. St Ebbes Primary School in Oxford reports that a similar programme has improved wellbeing, reduced arguments and injuries, and helped children develop resilience, spatial awareness and confidence in dealing with uncertainty.

Oasis Academy South Bank operates in a converted London office block with no playground, sports pitch or space for outdoor breaktime. Founder Steve Chalke warns that councils are prioritizing expensive housing and selling off school land, leaving new and existing state schools overcrowded and short of recreational space. Parents acknowledge the school’s value while describing the wider shortage of safe green areas and play spaces. The Oasis Charitable Trust is seeking land for city farms and specialist facilities, arguing that access to nature and outdoor activity is essential to children’s mental health and development.

Children in England’s state schools are losing both outdoor space and time for play, with consequences for wellbeing, physical activity and mental health. Guardian analysis found more than 300 schools with less than 1,000 square metres of outdoor space, at least 20 with none, and nearly 1,000 with under 10 square metres per pupil; schools in the most deprived areas have 18% less space per pupil. Research also indicates that break times have continued to decline, driven by curriculum pressures, staffing shortages, funding constraints and temporary classrooms. Teachers, researchers and campaigners are calling for more investment, stronger planning protections and play to be treated as a core part of healthy child development, while the main political parties’ proposals do not fully address the issue.