New survey looks at whether parks in East Lothian 'meet needs of girls'

Fa’side Women and Girls has partnered with Making Rights Real and the Scottish Women’s Budget Group to launch a public survey for the report. It seeks to understand whether the development and maintenance of East Lothian’s parks “meets the needs of girls”. The project is titled ‘Park Life For Girls: How do public spaces need to change for women and girls?’ Heather Williams, Fa’side Women and Girls member, said: “This project is about looking at the way in how park provision in East Lothian, particularly in the Fa’side area, meets the needs of girls and meets the needs of teenage girls in particular.

“I think there’s a perception that when we talk about play, we are talking about young children, but actually all children have the right to play. “What we’re looking at is how are the needs of different groups within the community being taken into account when they look at parks – development of parks, maintenance of parks – and investment in that infrastructure.” The survey is open until mid-March and can be accessed at The questions relate to public park use such as access, amenities and maintenance; it also asks about safety concerns and comfort, as well as how this might be improved.



Members of Fa’side Women and Girls are also holding discussions with young people about whether parks meet their needs. ‘Park Life For Girls’ follows another report put together by the groups last year, highlighting the gendered impact of the cost-of-living crisis..