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Clissold Park play area is the first in the borough to be designated as smoke-free.
Hackney Council has made the play area, paddling pool, and skate park into no smoking zones. Signs are set to go up shortly asking smokers to refrain from smoking in these areas.
The council says it is confident that people will take notice and act in the best interests of children and young people.
Hackney Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services, Cllr Jonathan McShane said: “The brand new play area brought with it the opportunity to make it the first smoke-free children’s play area in the borough. We are all well aware of the dangers of passive smoking and our children shouldn’t have to be subjected to it. We know the majority of people wouldn’t smoke around children but we are asking everybody to act responsibly and not smoke in these areas.”
Caroline Millar, Chair of the Clissold Park User Group said: “We are delighted that the council has decided to make our new play area ‘smoke-free’. With so many children and families coming to the park for fresh air and exercise, it is good to know that the air really will be fresh and there will be no more old cigarette butts in the sandpit.”
If successful the council will look at rolling the initiative out across all children’s play areas in Hackney later in the year. The decision to go smoke-free was made through the Hackney Tobacco Control Alliance. The Alliance brings together organisations in Hackney including the Council, City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, the Learning Trust, and Hackney Homes with the declared aim of reducing smoking in Hackney.
The play area, skate park and multi-use games area (MUGA) complete with goals and line markings for five-a-side football and basketball; and a built-in table tennis table are part of the £9 million restoration of the park.
This ambitious project, the first for nearly a century is nearing completion and includes the restoration of the Grade II listed Clissold House which will have rooms available for hire. There will be new and renovated animal and bird enclosures and a butterfly dome. The bowls pavilion has been improved to provide a valuable education and community resource. The park’s two lakes and New River also benefit from landscaping, desilting and structural improvement work, as well as tree and shrub planting and maintenance, provision of two new ornamental bridges among other works to improve the open spaces.
City and Hackney Primary Care Trust provides a stop smoking service called Ready, Steady, Quit, which offers a range of free services to help support those wishing to quit. To find out where your local stop smoking advisor or specialist clinic is, freephone 0800 169 1943.
More information about how to quit smoking from City and Hackney Stop Smoking Services.
