What to do if there is no playground in the yard or it is old? Let's look at it step by step

A children's playground in the courtyard of an apartment building is a blessing for any family with children.
In an area equipped for games, the child breathes fresh air, communicates with peers, and receives the necessary physical activity. Therefore, such buildings are considered an essential element of landscaping the local area. Near new buildings they really exist, but in old courtyards the situation often requires intervention. There are either no playgrounds for children or are in poor condition. To solve a problem, you need to know how to act and who to contact.

Contacting the management company

Before you get a playground in your yard, you need to contact the management company. For this purpose, an act is drawn up with the signatures of all residents. It outlines complaints about the condition of the playground. It is advisable to attach photographs of objects located in the yard to your application. For the act, it is not necessary to hold a meeting of all neighbors.

After submitting the application, you must notify it by phone. In this case, you need to force the date of application to be recorded. In addition, you should send an appeal to the head of the company. It should require an inspection of the site and elimination of existing shortcomings. According to the civil code, the period within which company representatives are required to consider the application is 7 days. If the requirements are not met, you must contact the state housing inspectorate.

It should be noted that it is worth drawing up an appeal only if the playground is adjacent to the building. In this case, it is considered household property for common use.

To find out, you need to read the agreement with the management organization. In this document you need to find the appendix “List of works for the maintenance of common property”. It is there that it is indicated whether the site is adjacent to the house or not. In some cases, it turns out that it is a yard, and therefore cannot be repaired by the management company.

It is also worth noting that if the site needs reconstruction or replacement, the management company may refuse to carry out the work, citing lack of funds. In case of refusal, you should complain to the district administration. This can be done by email and by phone.

Ways to organize a site with your own hands

There is an option to make a playground in the yard yourself, but it is still suitable for an area that is owned by citizens rather than a municipality. Due to the fact that responsibility for the installation, dismantling and repair of all objects located in the local area lies with the district administration, work carried out on it is permitted only to employees responsible for this.

But if you want to build a children's playground on your site, we will give you some tips.

The main thing is to choose a material that will not cause rapid breakdown or, worse, injury. Never allow the platform parts to have poorly finished edges, as this can lead to cuts and other injuries.

Study courtyard playgrounds on the Internet or in neighboring courtyards, plan what your town will consist of. Don’t forget about slides, carousels, sandboxes, as well as objects that will become a shadow zone - fungi and houses.

Consider having help. Surely in your neighborhood (and maybe even in yours) there are boys in families who are ready with enviable enthusiasm to participate in the creation of a children's town. Just don't forget about safety precautions ! This is a plus not only for the guys, but also for you - in the creative process they can give you fresh ideas.

The sandbox is a separate topic and an important part of the playground. It is not only a “projectile” for developing motor skills, but also a favorite place for yard cats and dogs. Because of the latter, harmful bacteria are bred in the sandbox, which cause infectious diseases. So take care and design your sandbox to be closed after play.

There are many examples and master classes on the Internet, do not neglect them. The sand must have a hygienic certificate, but if it is not possible to purchase such sand, simply sift it before children play in it. The area in which the sandbox is located should not be constantly in the shade, otherwise the sand will be cold and damp.

Municipal authorities

In courtyard areas, the installation of platforms is carried out by the municipality. This is where you should go if there is no playground in the yard or it is unsuitable for use. It should be noted that in any city, programs are periodically carried out to improve the courtyard area. You need to follow them in order to write your application on time.

To do this, it is necessary to convene a meeting of residents and draw up an appeal. It is also worth inviting a representative of the management company.

Self-construction

This option is suitable for impatient or tired residents. The disadvantage of this method of solving the problem is that it is expensive - money is collected from all residents of the residential complex. The advantage is that the quality of materials and the configuration of the play area are controlled by customers. To obtain permission to construct a site at their own expense, residents will be required to:

1. Call a meeting and obtain consent from the homeowners for the installation of the play area, determine the approximate amount of funds needed.
2. Find a contractor for the production and installation of play structures for the yard. Contacts of companies can be found on the Internet, on advertisement sites.
3. HOA specialists or a general meeting of residents need to draw up a project for the play area and an approximate estimate. If there is no architect on the management team, find a specialist and pay for his services.
4. To obtain permission to install a play area in the yard, draw up a plan and sketch of the site, contact the Department of Environment and Land Use, tel.

You must submit an application to the Construction and Architecture Committee for permission to build a play area, tel.

Important! The sports and play area in the yard for children must comply with GOST standards. After installation of the structure, the standards and legality of the installation will necessarily be monitored by government agencies. If violations or danger to children are detected, a decision may be made to demolish or reconstruct the site.

Article Categories:
Housing and Communal Services and Homeowners' Associations

Construction of the site using your own money

The most effective way to create a playground in your yard is to invest your own funds. In this case, you can get not a standard playground, but one that is more reliable and interesting for children.

To do this, you need to convene a meeting of apartment owners in your building. During the discussion, it is determined how much will have to be spent on construction and whether your neighbors are willing to pay for the site.

A representative of the HOA must be present at the meeting. As a result of its implementation, a protocol is drawn up, which indicates the decision. If all the neighbors agree to build a site at their own expense, an application must be submitted to the district government. From there it will go to the Architectural and Planning Department. If you know an architect, he can draw up the plans himself.

Depending on the wishes of the apartment owners, you can make only a playground or completely change the yard. After preparing the project, it must be agreed upon at a meeting of residents.

Then you need to collect all the documents that permit construction work. You can find out where to obtain documents from the city council. After collecting all the necessary papers, they are submitted to the council. It is there that the decision is made.

It must be remembered that all elements on the playground must meet safety requirements.

Application Rules

To begin with, it is important to understand which agency is responsible for a specific local area - the city authorities or the management company.

Next, a compiled and signed collective appeal from the residents of the apartment building must be sent to it. This is done either in person, by coming to the reception office of the organization, or through boarding on the official website of the organization.

If site repairs are required

If there is a site that requires repairs, you must also submit a corresponding application, written in free form, to the local authorities or the management company of the house.

Regular inspection of sites for their compliance with safety standards is the responsibility of the administrative and technical inspection. Therefore, if a broken play structure caused injuries in children, you can safely contact the prosecutor’s office.

What is indicated in the application

To draw up a repair request, it is advisable to take into account certain writing rules:

• At the top right is the full name of the company to which the application is submitted and the full name of the director;
• Next, write the exact address of the house in order to indicate who this statement is coming from. After this, a detailed description of the problem is provided, as well as the request itself;
• When residents have specific wishes or ideas, they are also stated in the submitted application. So, this may be a certain list of objects that they need;
• The appeal must be submitted along with the act of the meeting of apartment owners, which contains the signatures of those who support this initiative.

Requirements for children's playgrounds

In 2003, 14 requirements were developed that contribute to the creation of better and safer structures. When constructing a site, builders are guided by the following requirements:

1. All railings and fences must have an anti-slip coating. This helps reduce the risk of injury to structures. If the facility is intended for very young children, it should have steps near the ground. The corners of all structures on the site must be safely rounded.
2. Since the slide is an object of increased danger, the starting area must be equipped with railings. In this case, the lower part of the slide should not rise above the ground above 3.5 cm. The radius of curvature of the structure should be more than 5 cm. Sides must be installed along the entire length of the slide.
3. The Guest also specifies safe types of surfaces and types of equipment suitable for children's playgrounds.
4. According to SNIP, a safety data sheet must be compiled for each site. If the structures were built before 2005, they must be reconstructed.
5. In addition, the building codes and regulations indicate the distance of children's and sports grounds from other elements of the yard, as well as the need for landscaping.
6. According to regulations, surfaces on sports and playgrounds must be safe and anti-slip.
7. All coatings of installed objects must not deteriorate under the influence of weather conditions.

If the objects on the site do not meet even one of the listed requirements, you can contact the city administration with a description of the problem. If necessary, you should send several emails and make several calls to ensure that messages have been addressed.

What's wrong with old sites

If you visit the old courtyards of old houses, a ruined children's playground immediately catches your eye. More precisely, you can see the remains of it. Destroyed concrete and metal structures can cause irreparable harm to children. Most of the metal structures in the form of swings or carousels have long been sold for scrap. The paintwork was updated only once and this was done during construction. After that, no one cared about updating the appearance of the playground. Children lose interest in playgrounds and move to construction sites or other areas, which also puts their lives in danger. After the brutal dismantling of ladders, horizontal bars or other devices, metal strips and pipes remain sticking out of the ground. Their sharp ends can damage limbs or lead to blood poisoning.

Most parents prefer not to let their children go to such sites. Visiting other sites creates tension between neighbors. All this suggests the need for change. One of the best solutions is to completely demolish the old playground and build a new one, rather than restore it. The design of the new site is not complicated, but the issue of financing will take a long time to resolve.

Platform sizes

The amount of space on the playground depends on the age of the children for whom it is being created. The location of residential buildings also affects the size. On average, the size of the playground for preschoolers is about 60 square meters. If built for older children, it can range from 100 to 1500 square meters.

Taking into account all the described rules, you can draw up a project for a future site or demand its reconstruction from the management organization. If there are a large number of children per site, this may also be a reason to contact the management organization or city administration, since the size should be determined based on the average number of children in an apartment building.

Using the internet reception

You can also submit an application to the online reception of your city administration. To do this, just go to the administration’s website and follow the “mayor” link. After this you need to do the following:

1. Register and authorize your account.
2. Send a message to the administration.
3. Before sending, you must check the “written response” box. Thanks to this, you are guaranteed to receive a response to your request.

The answer can come either in writing to your mailbox or to the specified email.

Also at this time, you can contact a company that installs children's and sports grounds. At this stage, you can draw up a project yourself to find out exactly the cost of all structures. After this, you need to call the accounting department of the house management to clarify the list of documents required to complete the application. At this stage, the house management may refuse assistance due to lack of the required amount of funds. In this case, you need to contact the mayor's office again.