As the government announces it will slash VAT from 20% to 5% on commercial theme parks, soft play centres, and private family attractions between June 25 and September 1, a quieter, more troubling crisis is unfolding across London’s communities.

HM Treasury has confirmed that this temporary VAT holiday, introduced alongside a free August bus scheme for children to give families “breathing room” – will cost the government £300m in forgone tax revenue.

But while public funds subsidise paid-for corporate experiences, the free, staffed adventure playgrounds that provide everyday lifelines for the capital’s most vulnerable children are facing a financial cliff-edge. The stark reality of this funding crisis has hit home this month: for the first time in over 40 years, one of London’s long-standing community adventure playgrounds has announced it cannot afford to open for the May half-term. Meanwhile in Islington, a borough known for its commitment to play, the future of four adventure playgrounds hangs in the balance as the play association tips into financial crisis.

Unlike large commercial entertainment providers, adventure playgrounds are mostly run by small, grassroots community organisations. They operate on tight budgets in the heart of low-income neighbourhoods, providing staffed, safe, and entirely free open-access play. And many of the capital’s 70+ staffed sites are struggling to keep the gates open, as London Play’s recent survey highlighted. A significant majority pinpointed acute funding uncertainty, severe staffing shortages, and community pressures as existential threats. In particular they highlighted:

• A core funding void: Grants to cover day-to-day operational and core staffing costs have largely dried up.

• A staffing crisis: Decades of reduced funding have decimated professional development. As one respondent explained: “This is symptomatic of the wider demise of the play sector, where years of reduced funding… have weakened workforce capacity.”

• Rising complexities: Small providers are struggling to cope with an influx of children experiencing food poverty and special educational needs (SEND). One worker noted that increased SEND pressures require more staff, yet “we do not have the funding for additional staff.”

A funding lottery

There are pockets of good news. A few London sites have secured funding from the philanthropic £500,000 national Adventure Playground Fund, while Tottenham’s Somerford Grove Adventure Playground is leading a partnership project which successfully secured a £405k National Lottery Community Fund grant. Lambeth Council’s 2026/27 budget announcement includes £2.4 million of capital investment for adventure playgrounds and youth infrastructure. Meanwhile in Southwark, Dog Kennel Hill Adventure Playground announced that the council has committed ‘up to’ £1.2m for a new play building this year, after many years of delay.

But the overall picture is that the survival of vital children’s services has become a lottery. The national Adventure Playground Fund was heavily oversubscribed, and its directive meant the vast majority of grants were distributed to hard-hit areas outside of London. Furthermore, short-term lottery project grants or one-off council capital injections for building maintenance do not solve the day-to-day crisis of paying playworkers’ wages or keeping the gates open during school holidays.

As one survey respondent observed:

“Councils seem to… work backwards. For example, cutting funding from community services to the point where issues are raised within communities… then they pump a lot of money to fix the issues instead of working on prevention being better than cure.”

Another respondent expressed deep frustration at the lack of political understanding about the value of play:

“There is a lack of funding… and a lack of understanding of the value they bring to the community… I don’t believe play is funded as it should be given how fundamental it is to a child.”

London Play director Fiona Sutherland warned:

“Subsidising commercial giants cannot replace the structural, long-term statutory support needed for permanent, local, and free play spaces run by small community charities. If the government truly believes that ‘play is a right, not a luxury,’ its funding priorities must shift. Lowering the cost of a theme park ticket does nothing for the child whose local community adventure playground – a space that has stood as a beacon of safety for four decades – has just been forced to lock its gates for the half-term.”

Download and read the survey data below.