Matt Turmaine is a Labour councillor in Watford and writes a monthly column.

Albert Einstein said that “Play is the highest form of research”. George Bernard Shaw commented: “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

The importance of play in healthy childhood development is so significant that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights recognises it as a right for every child.

If you don’t have kids, then it may have escaped your notice that the supervised playground areas in The Harebreaks and Harwoods are to be closed, following a decision by Watford Council’s cabinet, back at the beginning of July, to save money.

These supervised play areas offer a refuge and safe space for kids to come and play, engage with role models, learn new skills and generally receive mentoring in an environment in which they will benefit.

The bitter pill of the closure of these services is being sweetened by investment in some new equipment that will be put into both park areas, ‘for children and their families to play with’.

However, the rub here is that the critical part of the facilities as they currently exist is that there are official people who are not the kids’ parents who supervise the areas. We all know that when you’re younger, you don’t always get on with your parents. Having these staff at The Harebreaks and Harwoods supervised adventure playgrounds is precisely the reason they are such an invaluable community resource.

The cabinet’s decision means they will be going. That’s not just a tragic loss of jobs at a time of economic difficulty. The support that we offer our children to grow into well-rounded, responsible adults is a measure of the degree of civilised society we create. The loss of these facilities worsens that, no matter how much expensive equipment is placed in an unstaffed play area.

For more on the playgrounds, click here.