To want some seats/benches out there in the world?

Hahahaha this always makes me laugh on MN.

As if writing to your MP will solve everything.

I’ve never had so much as an automated response from my MP in 20 years.

YANBU - there are nowhere near enough benches in public places in the UK for parents/elderly/people who just want to sit and chat

YABU to give a 2yo Disney+ to keep him quiet though. I would nip that in the bud pronto.

It’s a problem, my elderly parents used to walk into town by the river, then the council removed all the benches along there, and they couldn’t walk that far without a sit down. I emailed the council, and eventually, had a reply that said they wouldn’t put the benches back because of vandalism. It was a popular route, but now, a lot fewer people use it. Most of the bus shelters don’t have a seat, or a shelter, actually, and many don’t even have the timetable, they want you to use an app that doesn’t get updated or tell you anything. The rot set in a long time ago. Good luck with your crusade, I hope it’s successful in getting more seating!🤞🏻

So where would the money and people to look after them come from? I would think if there was a need they may have thought about it by now?

Definitely speak to someone about it, having somewhere to sit when walking in town can make a big difference to some people's potential for being mobile. If they know they can rest sometimes they will feel more able to walk despite mobility issues.

And feel you with the needing to breastfeed mid-walk. I had to walk several kms to town with ten day old DS so I could get my iron infusion. Half way there he needed to feed, had to go to a cafe that wasn't even open yet and beg them to let me in to feed and change him.

This annoys me so much. At one point I was taking three elderly, not very mobile, relatives to varying appointments and shopping.
We had a new hospital built in our city at the time. Lots of glass, tiles, and no seating near the main entrance where you could only drop patients off. Also no seating on the endless miles of corridors.

I complained to the hospital. Why did the planners not realise that patients with varying problems would often need to sit down? Amazingly the next time I visited there was some basic seating near the front door.

Our city centre has lots of seating in certain areas but none in others. It seems completely random. The only shop in my area with seats is our local chemist's. I'm sure more people would be encouraged to walk if they knew that they could rest at times.

Our local big shopping centre took all the seating out over lockdown and it never come back . They put little kiosks in where once there was seating . They had massive sofas set up at one point but they were removed and they got a lot of feedback saying people were avoiding shopping there coz there was nowhere to sit and take a rest so over the past year they’ve filled the centre with designer benches . They’ve removed loads of kiosks and gave them units so they can make little seating areas which has been great for shoppers . They’ve removed loads whole centre has been made a lot more accessible now for older people .

But our local park there is literally one bench on the whole area . It’s hidden away so there’s not a single bench or seat around the field . And don’t get me started on bins !!!!

Write to your MP, not the council. If you're not sure who they are, you can find them here
https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

In my town, a lot of the seating disappeared because of covid, and then just never came back.

It's awful, especially at this time of year when everyone wants to be outdoors more.

I would write to your MP. It's a genuine issue that needs addressing.

What you need OP, is a telescopic portable stool - as used by my relative with mobility problems and when she needed to sit, she needed to sit right there even if there was a bench 12 feet away. Sorry, can't do the linky thing but they're available on Amazon etc.
Course, you could pursue lobbying the council but, IMHO, your child is likely to be working with children of their own by the time you get anywhere - if you do.

Not in a coastal area, just a small town.

In Sunderland and I know we had a very dear family friend get a memorial bench - which was removed after it was utterly trashed (I am still pissed off about this years and years later), they nicked the memorial plaque to flog for scrap metal and eventually destroyed the whole thing. If that's gone on out in the local estates I would imagine it's one reason why... but it is crappy.

Dunno who you'd contact - I'd ask my family who have council connections but they've buggered off on holiday at the moment so I'd have to wait till they're back.

I think some benches were removed during covid. Plus some benches near parks are made deliberately uncomfortable to stop unsocial behavior. Thinking where I live (a city) there isn't benches on walk into town, apart from bus stops. But lots in the city centre.

Totally get your point @dontcomeatme . However, in our village the parish council and some fundraising bought four lovely wooden benches to commemorate the Queen's platinum jubilee in 2022. Sadly, only one remains following vandalism. Damaged beyond repair.

We have lots of benches where I am and you're right they are important. People need to be able to get out in the fresh air, and people with mobility issues, young children, the elderly and I'm sure many more need to have a sit down now and then. I think benches can also be social and where strangers can chat.

My neighbourhood has a reasonable spread of benches around the main roads and core community areas that were gradually added to over the years.
Unfortunately they occasionally attract vandalism.

When I was struggling with SPD in pregnancy, I went to a nearby city to use their tram park and ride, which saved walking "longer" distances through the city centre as I could hop on/ off. The major tramstop had no seating. Just some pointless shelf pitched at mid-back level designed for a healthy 6'2" man to rest his buttocks on 🙄

At the modern shopping centre, they had sofas... they were bloody awful too. So deep that to rest your back on them, you had to shuffle so your calves were wraggling over the edge and by the time you'd wriggled forwards to your feet, you needed another rest break from the exertion. The alternatives of low stools were also dreadful, no support so my organs were crushed under the weight of my bump as my admoninals were re-located somewhere round my sides.

Where did you look? Benches tend to be parks, plazas, shopping areas etc. there’s a few at bus shelters but in busy places like the town centre. I can tell you where there’s a dozen or more in my town but they aren’t in random suburban streets

As someone with severe health problems, I would welcome more rest beaches. 👍

I noticed this too when pregnant and then carting a baby around. Very few places to sit. What pissed me off most though was train stations and bus stops without seating. I think the term is hostile architecture.

Benches and seating areas are usually juvenile nuisance magnets. I wonder whether this has anything to do with it.

When I was young, every shop, including small corner ones, had at least one chair for shoppers' use. I'm always bemoaning the lack of them now I'm older and less able to walk far.
I think our large Sainsburys is the only shop with benches (inside) now.

You might have to contact more than one by the way. Our village is arbitrarily cut down the middle of the main road in terms of council wards. You might need to hunt out a map of the wards to check you are talking to the right person.

You’ll be better off asking for seating/rest areas rather than going straight to complain. We’ve currently got really decent local
councillors and I know I can find them on Facebook and popping up on local groups. They should also have ward surgeries so you can go along and meet with them locally to discuss any issues. Found this for Sunderland so you might be able to reach them directly via email www.sunderland.gov.uk/media/25022/List-of-council-members-and-contact-details-2022/pdf/ListOfCouncillorsContactDetails.pdf?ccp=true#cookie-consent-prompt

@stealthsquirrelnutkin thank you very much for that info as I have a friend who could use that. I’m sorry for your plight op as I remember it well trying to combine walks with babies and toddlers. Lots of sympathy.