Playing Out

Playing Out St Albans District

About Playing Out

Would you like to see kids playing outside your own house? Would you like to meet neighbours and build a stronger community where you live? The Playing Out St Albans District scheme is designed for just that.

What is Playing Out?

• Short resident-led road closures
• Kids playing in the street
• No cars to worry about
• Adults mingling and meeting
• Building communities

Watch our short video – it’s less than 2 mins long…..

Playing Out is a nation-wide concept where residents choose to apply to close their road to through traffic for short sessions to allow the children to come out onto the street and cycle, scoot and play together in the road. It is a fabulous way to build communities, offering neighbours a chance to build support networks and children the opportunity to get fresh air and exercise, as well as learn to play in an unstructured manner with other children of all ages.

Residents from all generations benefit including children, adults, parents and isolated older people as everyone truly gets to know their neighbours.

Is Playing Out the same as a street party?

Playing Out is not the same as a street party although they are similar and we love them both! The flowchart below may help you know if you’ve come to the right place! Read our explanation about what is the difference between a street party and a Playing Out session. Visit our sister site www.ourstreetparty.org/stalbans if you are interested in holding a street party in a St Albans District street.

We’re here to help you!

The Playing Out St Albans DIstrict project is run by lovely local people who are here to support other residents close their road for play and chat. Please read the information on these webpages, then visit our News page to find out how to book an information session or come to one of our drop-in chats. You can, of course, email us with questions any time – simply Contact Us.

Information about Playing Out in different languages

We have a 2 sided flyer summary for residents to share including versions translated into a number of languages. Click on the image to access the pdf file. If you would like printed copies of these flyers, please contact us.

Frequently asked questions

Who authorises Playing Out road closures?

The closures are ultimately authorised by St Albans City and District Council. Applications come to us at the Playing Out St Albans District team (a Sustainable St Albans project). They are sent on to Herts Police and Hertfordshire County Council Highways and, providing those two bodies do not object to the proposed closures, they are then considered by St Albans City and District Council. Successful applications are granted Temporary Play Street Orders for the closures and given notices for lampposts. The process takes approximately 6 weeks and there are 4 application rounds per year – deadlines can be found here on our News page.

Can I organise Playing Out / Play Streets sessions on my road in St Albans, Harpenden and the villages?

Provided your road is not a bus route or a very major road, your street is eligible to apply. However, St Albans District Council has the final say on whether your road is suitable for playing out and whether they will grant permission.

You must live in the St Albans District Area – that is you must be in St Albans, Harpenden, Wheathampstead, Redbourn, London Colney or Sandridge, ie your local District Council must be St Albans City and District Council. Not sure? Use this link to find your local council – it should say Hertfordshire County Council and St Albans City & District Council. 

You must consult the other residents on your street – so please give yourself plenty of time to do that before the application deadline.

How often can we play out?

For St Albans District Playing Out, the rules are below. You can also have an additional closure for a street party – see Street Party information below.

• 8 times a year maximum
• Maximum 1 per month
• 3 hours at a time maximum
• Sessions must be in daylight hours – no later than 4pm after the clocks go back in October, November and February and 3.30pm in December and January.
• Applications take 8 weeks and you must consult your neighbours before you apply. There are four application rounds per year.
• Please apply for multiple dates wherever possible.

We recommend you check your proposed dates against other local and national celebrations and events to make sure they will work for your community.

How much does it cost?

There is no charge to residents to apply for Playing Out. In addition, Playing Out St Albans District can lend streets the essential kit to enable them to play out such as road closure signs and hi viz jackets for stewards. 

How does the road closure work?

Road closures for Playing Out purposes have what they call a “permeable barrier”. Closure points are stewarded by volunteer residents in hi viz jackets. Their job is to escort any resident vehicles into the closed area if they need access to minimise neighbour inconvenience. All through traffic is diverted. So, if you live in the closed area and you need to go out or come in with your car, you absolutely can.

What is the difference between a street party and a Playing Out session?

A street party is a street gathering where the focus is on a party with food, music, entertainment, bunting, etc. Often they go on all afternoon or even all day.

In Hertfordshire, Herts County Council only allow one road closure per street per year for the purposes of a street party. If you want to organise multiple street gatherings, or if you have already held your street party this year and want one more gathering, you cannot apply to Herts County Council. Instead, you can apply via Playing Out St Albans District to St Albans District Council for up to 8 closures per year for the purposes of play and community building.

Playing Out sessions are street gatherings that are like a street party but lower key and shorter. They can be up to 3 hours long and road closure points must be stewarded by volunteer residents so that cars needing access to closed section of street can be escorted in. The focus is on multiple opportunities for free play for children and neighbourly chat. Rules include no structures on the highway (ie no gazebos or tables on the actual road). No organised entertainment is necessary although tea & cake is very much encouraged.

I only want to close my road once this year, do I need to apply to Playing Out?

If you only plan to close your road once this year, then it might be easier to do a street party application to Herts County Council.  Our sister organisation Our Street Party can provide you with a free information pack to help you organise a one-off road closure in St Albans District via an application to Herts County Council. If you are not sure whether to apply for a street party or Playing Out, contact us for a chat.

Do I have to attend an Information session before I apply?

Many people find our information sessions very useful but you do not have to have attended one in order to submit an application. You can “self-serve” from this website all the information you need – please visit our How to Apply page to find out how to apply to close your road for Playing Out. If you plan to “self-serve” we recommend that you contact the Playing Out St Albans District team to let us know you are getting started.

I have received a consultation letter about Playing Out on my street – what should I do?

We are delighted that one of your neighbours is proposing to organise some Playing Out street gatherings on your road in St Albans District. We hope you will join in and enjoy meeting your neighbours and strengthening your community. Events like this are for everyone in the street (not just for children and their families) so you will be very welcome. Your neighbour will no doubt be grateful for a positive response from you and an offer to volunteer as a steward will be appreciated. If you have any concerns about the proposal do have a chat with the neighbour who made the proposal. You may find this page on the national Playing Out website answers your concerns. If you want to talk to someone, the next levels of escalation are us here at Playing Out St Albans District followed by the St Albans City & District council. However, we will hope you will join more than a thousand other residents of the district in enjoying the benefits that attending a Playing Out session brings.

I have more questions!

Click here for our  PDF of Frequently Asked Questions.

We can help you with everything you need to do. If you have any further questions, just contact the Playing Out St Albans District team.

How to apply

Click here for our step-by-step guide about how to apply to close your road with the Playing Out scheme.

About Us – the Playing Out St Albans District Project

Playing Out was born in Bristol, the brainchild of some parents who wanted their children to “play out” in the way they had in the 1970s and 1980s. Using a street party application, they closed their road to create a safe space and simply let the children play rather than organising a party. It was pure magic. The idea spread and local governments began to put schemes in place. The Bristol project became the national Playing Out project and you can visit the Playing Out CIC website here.

The Playing Out St Albans District project was started by neighbours who wanted to organise road closures on their own street. Realising no scheme yet existed here, they worked with Sustainable St Albans and St Albans District Council to set one up. As well as closing their own road, they now support other residents across the district to do so too. Read more about the project in our Meet Your Neighbours Annual Report 2023.

Playing Out St Albans District blogs and videos

• Why meet your neighbours? Words to inspire.
• Building Greener Street Communities
• Close your road to celebrate World Car Free Day
• Victoria’s story – Playing Out in St Albans
• May 2022 – Ideas for your Street Party!
• Organise a Playing Out scheme or street party now and bring sustainability to your street
• Ideas for Halloween 2020 – Playing Out St Albans District
• Decorate your windows for Festive Streets
• Playing In with Playing Out video 2020
• Sustainability Festival Neighbourhood Scavenger Hunt 2021

Playing Out St Albans District’s Funders and Supporters

Playing Out St Albans District is a project run by the local environment charity, Sustainable St Albans. We would like to thank the following for their generous funding support:

Playing Out CIC, Bristol
National Lottery Community Fund (directly and also distributed by Transition Together)
Hertfordshire Community Fund’s St Albans Fund for the Future
St Albans District Council Community Grant Fund
Hertfordshire County Council Locality Budgets from County Councillors Helen Campbell, Paul de Kurt, John Hale, Teresa Heritage, Anthony Rowlands, Sandy Walkington and Chris White.
Harpenden Trust
Sandridge Parish Council

In addition we would like to thank the following for their support in kind:

Mark Percival Consulting video productions
The Beech House pub, St Albans

Festive Streets and #ShowTheLove

Each year, we run a wonderful sister project called Festive Streets, encouraging residents in streets across the district to co-ordinate with neighbours to decorate the windows in their street. Visit the Festive Streets webpage in November and December to get your free information pack.

We also supported the #ShowTheLove campaign from the Climate Coalition during February 2021. Click here to see our blog all about #ShowtTheLove.

Contact Playing Out St Albans District

• Contact the Playing Out St Albans District team by email

• Talk to us at one of our events – an information session on zoom or in person or at a drop-in event Find dates on our News page here.

Find us on social media

• Follow us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Join the Playing Out St Albans Facebook Group and the National Playing Out Facebook Group for peer support

Sign up to our mailing list

To hear all the latest news about the Playing Out project and street party news, including deadlines for applications and information session dates, please sign up to our newsletter.

Click here to sign up to the Playing Out St Albans District and Our Street Party newsletter

Next

Click here for the Latest News from Playing Out – includes events and deadline dates

or

Click here for the How to Apply to Playing Out page – everything you need to know to start your St Albans District street Playing Out.