Save The Addy, Wythenshawe The community of Wythenshawe was given notification yesterday that we had TWO WORKING DAYS to lobby against the potential closure of of The Addy Young People's Centre in Sharston ward. This level of notification and the time it affords for petitioning is, in our view, a direct contravention of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), particularly articles 12 and 13: the right for the child to be consulted on matters that affect them, and the free expression of the child's views on these matters. There has been a children's adventure playground on this site for thirty years. In this time children playing here have become adults and had children of their own, in some cases grandchildren. It is the home to a hundred thousand stories and playful experiences, and has been a constant source of warmth, support, shelter love and laughter throughout it's existence. The addy currently has over a thousand children on it's books. Over the years, The Addy has probably served well in excess of five thousand of Wythenshawe's children. If the families of the children are to be added to the figure in terms of the support they have received implicitly and explicitly, the figure becomes too large to calculate. To our knowledge the provision is one of the largest adventure playgrounds in the country. The Addy is threatened with immanent closure and the reduction of servicesas of next week. Decisions on it's future will be made next Tuesday (22nd February). WE MUST ACT NOW TO SAVE THE ADDY.