The government has joined widespread condemnation of developers who blocked children living in social housing from using the playground on a London development.

The Conservative housing secretary, James Brokenshire, called the situation on the Baylis Old School site in Lambeth “outrageous”. He said the developers, Henley Homes, and the local council should immediately change the site.

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There has been criticism from across the political spectrum, including from the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, after Guardian Cities revealed that Henley Homes changed the layout of the former school site, putting hedges and fences where the original approved plans showed gates, thereby blocking the social housing residents from using any of the shared spaces.

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The controversy has been compared to the ongoing “poor doors” scandal, in which poorer residents of a development are forced to use different entrances.

Brokenshire said: “Restricting children from play because they live in social housing is outrageous behaviour and I condemn it in the strongest terms. As part of our social housing green paper, we committed to tackling stigma and challenging the stereotypes perpetuated by such segregation.

“We are investigating this matter and will be liaising with the developer and any other parties responsible to ensure children of all backgrounds can play together.”

Politicians and children’s rights campaigners, including Corbyn, Khan, the shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, and the children’s commissioner Anne Longfield, have all criticised the developers, with Corbyn tweeting: “This is wrong, it must end.”

The shadow housing secretary, John Healey, said: “This type of segregation is plain wrong. Over the last nine years, the government has given developers a free hand to build what they want.”

Khan said: “Segregation has absolutely no place in London, and it’s disgraceful that children who live in the same development are not being allowed to play together. The developer should put an end to this shameful practice immediately.”

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Longfield said: “Every one of the various partners involved should think again,” while the Labour MP Rachel Reeves called it “disgusting”.

Although London’s deputy mayor for housing, James Murray, called the situation “morally unacceptable and shameful”, he admitted that his office was unable to immediately force the developers to give access.

Murray added: “We have spoken to Lambeth council and they are investigating their legal options to put pressure on the developer. But whatever the legal position, we are clear that the developer in this case should realise their position is morally unacceptable and end this shameful practice immediately.”

Henley Homes was a contributor to Khan’s successful campaign for London mayor. In 2015, Khan’s team received two payments from Henley, of £10,000 and £,5000, towards his campaign.

Matthew Bennett, Lambeth council’s cabinet member for housing, described the situation as “completely unacceptable”. He claimed Lambeth did not knowingly allow the segregation to happen.

The council argued it no longerhad any control over access to the playground spaces. In February, after being contacted by the Guardian for this story, Lambeth council wrote to Henley Homes.

The letter, from councillor Joanne Simpson, said: “Developing a sense of community was a key argument made at planning stage … so I am deeply concerned to hear … that social exclusion of children is being deliberated engineered, on account of their housing tenure. However, this is a civil matter regarding the management agency and it is only within your gift to ensure that all play spaces are available for all children to use.”

Leading housing lawyers say there could be a basis for challenging the situation. Martin George, the associate professor of property law at the University of Leicester, said he has been discussing with legal colleagues the potential for action against some of the parties involved. His callout on social media asks for people with legal expertise to join him in helping the residents challenge the segregation.

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Residents in Wren Mews said they have been trying for the past year to open up access to the play spaces, and have repeatedly asked Lambeth, Henley Homes and Warwick Estates to give shared access to all the children on the site.

“We tried to talk to the developers about the rights for kids,” said Jane Bloomfield, 43, a private owner who bought her apartment five years ago and has campaigned for the social housing residents to get the same rights she enjoys. “They have a tactic of passing you from person to person. You never get a direct response. You never get anywhere. It’s a vicious circle of unanswered questions.”

Resident Aster Ayele, 34,said it meant a lot to her and her neighbours to hear that campaigners and lawyers wanted to support them.

“It makes me happy that people want to help. This is a community, and we have to be there for each other. My kids are looking out the window at the kids playing in the summer and they feel bad.

“They ask me, ‘Mummy, why am I not allowed there?’ And I can’t explain – I can’t say that they’re rich and we’re poor. So I just say we’re not allowed.”

Have you come across any other examples of this type of segregation in housing developments? If so, contact the Cities editor, Chris Michael

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• This article was amended on 27 March 2019. An earlier version misspelt the family name of Matthew Bennett as Barnet. It was further amended on 28 March 2019 to give James Brokenshire’s correct title – housing secretary rather than housing minister.