'˜Help get kids playing outside in fresh air'

A GP who is passionate about fostering a sense of community spirit has teamed up with a local pub group to encourage people to organise their own street parties.
Tring mayor Stephen Hearn, centre, with Eamonn Borg-Neal from Oakman Inns, right, and Dr Rob Schafer of the Longfield Road Playing Out scheme, leftTring mayor Stephen Hearn, centre, with Eamonn Borg-Neal from Oakman Inns, right, and Dr Rob Schafer of the Longfield Road Playing Out scheme, left
Tring mayor Stephen Hearn, centre, with Eamonn Borg-Neal from Oakman Inns, right, and Dr Rob Schafer of the Longfield Road Playing Out scheme, left

Dr Rob Schafer, of Longfield Road, Tring, has launched a new website – www.ourstreetparty.org – with the help of Oakman Inns, which owns three pubs in Dacorum.

The website helps people organise and run their own local street parties – something Rob and his neighbours started doing in 2012, for the Queen’s Jubilee.

The pub chain is offering free meeting space to community groups who want to plan and throw their own street parties.

Dr Schafer said: “It’s a great first step to getting kids playing outside again in the way that most of us took for granted 30 years ago.

“In fact, many streets which have held street parties have gone on to have regular temporary road closures for street play schemes.

“Our Jubilee street party in 2012 has resulted in not only an annual street party ever since, but also two-hour ‘street play’ sessions once a month.”

This year, London’s Mall will close for the monarch’s official 90th birthday on Sunday, June 12 to make way for what is being hailed as ‘the world’s biggest street party’, with thousands of people expected to eat together.

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