Mandate secure fencing for deep ponds and drainage basins near play parks — 9 signatures. Status: rejected.
We call on the Government to make secure, child proof fencing a mandatory requirement for any deep body of water, including Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and public ponds, when they are located near children's play areas, designated community green spaces, or residential housing estates.
The current system relies on flexible risk assessments, which allow developers and councils to leave deep water hazards entirely open, or bordered only by signs and bushes. This is failing to protect vulnerable children. Toddlers and neurodivergent individuals can wander off in a split second and are naturally drawn to water without understanding the danger. Signs do not stop a child. We need a clear statutory law that treats proximity to a play park as a high-risk zone.
View this petition on the official UK Parliament website