Parents occupy community centre with buggy blockade in protest over cost of childcare
Parents occupy a London community center with Buggy blockade to protest against affordable child care and lack of school holiday support.
Parents, on Friday evening Tottenham Hale Living One Sun (Luos) aid organization, run by the closed center in the recent occupation of the Grandmother and grandfather and young workers attended.
The group, which received an average of 50 to 60 people a day at the weekend, said that the occupation will continue as long as possible to provide a community space during the summer holidays.
In the midst of a deficiency in the UK, the protesters said that the district demanded an emergency action to increase child care and school holiday presentation. They also called on the Harey Council to protect the central destruction in Down Lane Park and guaranteed the use of long -term use as an area for community groups to carry out services and activities.
At the entrance, a Buggy blockade and an outside family Fiesta and demonstrators began to publish free food and children’s activities from space.
A local mother and dance teacher Gemma Brown said: ız We didn’t know what kind of reactions we could make from the community. After a while, more than 100 neighbors appeared to celebrate with us. When we got back the center, we have a planned program for summer, but it continues to grow.
Rebecca, a single mother and kitchen volunteer who just wanted to give the first name in the community center, added: ğinde When the center closed, I felt that I lost my other house … We will not let them take our community center. ”
Six -week summer vacation is a serious challenge for thousands of London family. According to a survey of children’s charity Coram this year, London’s child care costs in Inner London are £ 306 per week for a childminder with more than 1,800 £ more than 1,800 during the summer holidays.
For this reason, many parents cannot afford to work when schools are closed, and many rely on community center programs during school holidays.
The district where the Tottenham Hale Community Center is located has some of the highest child poverty rates in the UK.
However, according to a Ministry of Education report this year, the government’s holiday activities and the demand for the Food (HAF) program seem to exceed the supply with about three quarters of appropriate children who do not participate in the program last summer.
According to the latest data of the government, only 29 percent of children in the week, while most councils left only four weeks of clubs, leaving a gap for up to two weeks without supporting support.
According to the protesters, the community center, which was operated by Luos, was one of the last people who conducted free children’s activities, including many sports, crafts and horticulture during summer holidays in Haringey.
However, the Council announced that the center would be destroyed. Local newspaper Haringey Community Press reported that Luos had left the building in March after a funding dispute with the council.
In response, local parents and child care employees decided to invade the center to support families struggling with food and child care during school holidays and carry out a free community holiday program.
In addition to children’s care calls and demands, protesters call transparency and real community control over the money spent on planning in Tottenham Hale.
Pamela Berrocal, a play employee in the profession, said, orum I run play groups and parental support groups for the Latin community in Tottenham.
“Council cares, local families ‘renewal’ plans that enrich private developers while pricing. And now they want to find a community area that we all trust.
“Tottenham has a long history of community resistance and we will not let them get rid of it. We are fighting because we care.”
Ruth Gordon, a member of the Assembly of Harey Council Cabinet and Local Economy Member of the Council, said that individuals “suppress the building in an illegal profession” on Friday and “wounded the personnel member”.
Uz We want to provide the best services for our residents, and the Council has discussed with community groups about short -term use, which includes summer holiday activities for young children and already bought equipment from Luos to support it, ”he added.
“The Council will want to have the building to remove illegal inhabitants, so that we can carry out activities through the right channels.
“As part of the planned long -term program, the Council has participated intensively with the residents and will provide a new building and other facilities in the park to provide long -term community presentation.”
Metropolitan police Independent The protest was not a police issue.
“We know that school holidays can be a pressure time for parents, so this government puts back into the pockets of the parents in the pockets of the parents through the change plan.
“We offer children care that has been financed by the 30 -hour state since September, we help each child the best start of life and save up to £ 7,500 a year. In addition, we continue to finance free holiday clubs through holiday activities and food program that provide low -income families during school holidays.
“In order to support the feeling of stimulating families, we expand free school meals with universal credit to all children in the universe and introduce free breakfast clubs in primary schools.”
Independent Luos approached the aid organization for a comment.
