Editing Home zone (section)

==History==
{{further|Children's street culture|Street game}}
[[Image:Children playing in street, New York.jpg|right|thumbnail|Young boys playing in a [[New York City]] street, 1909]]
The [[Highway Act 1835]] banned the playing of football and [[street game]]s on the highway<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby.htm|title=Origins of Rugby|work=Rugby Football History|accessdate=2010-04-14|quote="football for the common man was being suppressed, notably by the 1835 highways act which forbade the playing of football on highways and public land - which is where most games took place"}}</ref> with a maximum penalty of forty [[shillings]] (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|2|1835|2015|r=2}}}} as of 2015{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}).<ref>[[#opsi1835|Parliament (1835)]] para 72</ref> In 1860 [[Taverner John Miller]], MP for Colchester reported to the House of Commons that in the previous year 44 children had been sent to prison in London and [[Middlesex]] for failure to pay fines for playing in the street, highlighting the case of a 12-year-old boy sent to prison for 5 days for playing [[rounders]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1860/apr/20/observations|title=Observations|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=20 April 1860|quote=The House would be surprised to hear that under that Act, no fewer than forty-four children were sent to prison in the metropolis last year, and since the commencement of this year twenty-five had been sent to prison. He would mention particularly two or three of these cases. George Dunn, aged twelve years, was sent to gaol for five days for playing at a game called "rounders" in which the boys stood in a ring and knocked a hall from one to another.}}</ref> In 1925 [[Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor|Nancy Astor]] MP noted in the Commons that "There is no more pitiable sight in life than a child which has been arrested for playing in the street".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1926/apr/28/recreation-facilities-urban-areas#S5CV0194P0_19260428_HOC_361|title=RECREATION FACILITIES (URBAN AREAS)|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=28 April 1926|quote=There is no more pitiable sight in life than a child which has been arrested for playing in the street. Of all the pitiable sights that I have seen that is the most pitiable. Though these children may be fined, we stand convicted. The other night, I went to see 50 of these children, tiny children some of them, ranging from 10 years of age}},</ref> By 1935 over 2,000 young people under the age of seventeen are prosecuted for playing in the streets.<ref name=PlayStreetsInLondon>{{cite web|url=http://www.londonplay.org.uk/file/1333.pdf|archive-url=https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20090729220406/http://www.londonplay.org.uk/file/1333.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-07-29|title=Play Streets in London timeline}}</ref>

In 1934 [[Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha|Leslie Hore-Belisha]] became Transport Minister and initiated a number of [[road safety]] schemes in response the rising number of [[Reported Road Casualties Great Britain|Road Casualties in Great Britain]]; these included the [[zebra crossing]] and a proposal to introduce play streets to the UK, which had been successfully operating in the USA.<ref name=PlayStreetsInLondon/> Following a trial of 200 Play Streets in [[Manchester]] and [[City of Salford|Salford]] from 1936, the Street Playground Act 1938 allowed councils to designate streets as playgrounds where games could be played.

In 1957 the Transport Minister was asked in the Commons if he was aware that playground streets regulations were being ignored and were frequently used by through traffic; the Minister responded saying that the size of Playground Streets signs had recently been increased in size to make them more prominent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1957/apr/03/play-streets#S5CV0568P0_19570403_HOC_134|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=3 April 1957|title=Play Streets|quote=Mr. Page asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he is aware of the dangers to children in streets designated as "play streets", when those streets are used by through traffic and whether he will take steps by means of the Highway Code or otherwise, to draw the attention of drivers to the fact 387 that it is an offence to drive a vehicle in a play street except when calling at premises in the street}}</ref> Play street legislation was included in section 49 of the Road Traffic Act 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/16/section/49/enacted|title=Road Traffic Act 1960 Section 49 - Power of local authorities to prohibit traffic on roads to be used as playgrounds}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1965/jun/29/play-streets#S5CV0715P0_19650629_CWA_90|title=Play Streets|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=29 June 1965|quote=Local authorities were advised in a Ministry of Transport Circular No. 787 dated 12th July, 1961, to consider using the powers to make Street Playground Orders under section 49 of the Road Traffic Act, 1960, as a contribution to the safety of children in urban areas where there is insufficient recreational space}}</ref>

By 1963 there were 750 such streets around the country,<ref name=Marles1963/> but there was also growing conflict between the needs of children and the needs of motorists. In that year [[Ernest Marples]], the Transport minister, was asked in the Commons if he could make a statement about the issue of car parking in play streets; he responded by indicating that he had only occasionally received complaints about parking issues in play streets.<ref name=Marles1963>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1963/jul/10/play-streets|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=10 July 1963|title=Play Streets|quote=Mr. Spriggs asked the Minister of Transport what evidence he has of car parking in official play streets; and if he will make a statement on the working of the Street Playgrounds Act, 1938}}</ref> In the same year a petition was presented in the Commons from residents objecting to the illegal use of their playground street in Westminster being used by through-traffic and by people parking cars<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1963/aug/01/passmore-street-city-of-westminster|title=Passmore Street, City of Westminster|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=1 August 1963|quote=I wish to present a Petition to this honourable House on behalf of 20 residents in Passmore Street in the City of Westminster. The Petition relates that this is an official street playground, but children play there at risk of their lives because of the abuse by motorists, and parkers of cars}}</ref> By contrast, the minister was also questioned in the Commons about a recently approved Playgrounds Street Order for a number of streets in Newcastle which was reported to have been opposed by all residents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1963/aug/01/play-streets-newcastle-upon-tyne#S5CV0682P0_19630801_CWA_189|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=1 August 1963|title=Play Streets, Newcastle-upon-Tyne|quote=Mr. R. W. Elliott asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that in confirming the Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Street Playgrounds) (No. 1) Order, 1963, he ignored the objections of nearly all of the residents of the three streets named in the order}}</ref> In 1976 [[Trevor Huddleston]], the [[Bishop of Stepney]] commented that Britain appeared to prefer motor cars to children 'by cluttering up Play Streets with parked cars'.<ref name=PlayStreetsInLondon/> By the 1980s Playgrounds Streets had been largely forgotten; there were streets which retained the signage and accompanying traffic restrictions, however residents' parked cars left no space for play.<ref name=PlayStreetsInLondon/>