Quick! The Telegraph would like your comments on the great British sandpit shortage

I thought I had misread the tread title as I have never been to a park with a sandpit!

I'd like to see a well maintained sand pit in our local park but unfortunately the general cleanliness of the park is pretty rubbish so can't ever see us getting one.

Children love them. I hate them!
Most parks round here have them. Occasional reports of needles, but they seem well tended. I do have a special non-sand-pit-park which I take the children to if I don't want to have sand trodden in the house for the rest of the day. They are most popular with the under 8's I would say, and a valuable play resource. I would feel sad if they were being removed through health and safety concerns. Are we going to ban walking next for fear of road accidents?

Don't have any public sandpits near me. I don't remember any public sandpits when I was growing up either so wasn't aware that their decline was an issue.

Some of the children's play farms near us have sandpits and my children would rather play in them than look at the animals. Maybe I could get a reduced entry fee for sandpit only?

Do they custardo? Why would drunken people go to the trouble of climbing over the locked park gates at night and making their way to the sandpit to piss? Why not piss where they are?

there are two permanent near me (bristol) - both reasonably recent and well upkept and locked up at night. And had CCTV/people patrolling.

there was also one put up in the centre last summer I think.

We used to use Hengrove a lot as it was close to us (though we've moved further a way now). It also had a lot of play equipment for all ages and water play. Plus cafe/toilets.

Both Hengrove adn Blaise Castle (the 2 permanent ones) are very well used - we used to avoid weekends as Hengrove was so busy you couldn't move.

We have one.
We go to it as it (seems) quite clean and it gets covered over at night.
I love it. Saves me having one a t home.

i wouldnt take small children to a sandpit becuase drunk people piss in them

There is one in a town fairly near us where we sometimes go for a day out (the town, not the sandpit specifically )

My daughter enjoys playing in it, and it's nice to sit round the edge with your feet in the sand chatting to other parents.

I used to really enjoy the sandpit at the park when I was a child.

There are loads of sandpits near us - Queens Park, Hampstead Heath, Golders Hill. I hadn't noticed them disappearing. My DS loves them

At the park my DD goes to there are cleaners at the playground every morning. Admittedly in central Paris no-one has a private garden for children to play in so all children go to the park all the time.

A brand-new one has just opened in Taunton and it's proving very popular indeed. The trouble is, there don't seem to be any bins nearby so it's already quite full of Wotsit packets etc... However, it's great for the younger kids. As long as they are age-restricted (no horrible older children tossing sand around) and properly maintained, then they seem like a great idea.

Aranea - so that is why my DD doesn't like sandpits - she's a direct descendant of a chimpanzee terrific climber!

We don't have a sandpit near us, which is probably a good thing judging by the cleanliness of the local parks.

When dd visits my mother (who lives in a better cared for area), they frequently visit the local park which has a well maintained sandpit which dd loves.

I think that in theory they are a great idea, but only if properly maintained, which in reality simply won't happen everywhere.

I'm not fussed about sandpits in parks at all. No sandpit at any of my local parks. Sometimes we go to one that has it and children love it though. In my mind sand is something to play on the beach though so I'm not bothered about them in parks. I'm not british so I might have a skewed view of this .

There are sandpits in lots of playgrounds near us. I love them. They're my daughter's favourite thing, as she isn't a great climber and is scared of swings and roundabouts! She has always wanted to spend AGES enjoying the sand.

Some are cleaner than others, but I've never really worried about it. I've never seen them used as cat toilets - it never seems to be anything worse than plant matter.

Would be very sad to see the sandpits go.

No s/p in our local park -- I often wish there was. There is a decent one at the playground on Hampstead Heath, with lots of great weighing/lifting mechanisms. It's always busy.

We crossed London twice (with buckets and spades) to visit the Kew Gardens beach. Twas heaven.

Our local park has just been re-modelled, the local park supporters group raised a fortune through events to fund it.

It looks great, and there is a sandpit in it, which my DC love. Unfortunately on my last trip I found broken glass and a syringe it it.

There is no poiint in having it unless it's monitored and cleaned.

my kids will play for hours in sand pits. There is one in my local park, but it's become more of a gravel pit with not much sand left.

There is a much better one near my mum's house which is one of the old style paddling pools re-envisioned as a sand pit. At first, there wasn't enough sand in it so the kids could only play at one end, but they loved it. This year it has been filled up with lovely new sand which was exciting and very popular. However, with the first downpour it filled up and is now half sand, half scummy puddles which have the look of frothy toxic waste.

I think the point here is maintenance; sandpits are fabulous and really let children get stuck in with their imaginations, but councils have to be able to commit to the maintenance.

There is one in a park on the other side of town. We go there rarely as it is very difficult to park there. But when we go the dc's have a fantastic time.

We go to a farm which has 2 sandpits and they are very popular. I like it as I get to sit and watch while they play without any assistance from me! But this is a pricey place and you could only play in the sand if you're a member or pay the entry fee.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using MN for research

sfx the nearest one is probably bushy park!

Oh, and what is the Telegraph's excuse for not doing their own research, yet again? Laziness? Budget cutbacks? Complete inadequacy?

the only public sandpit my Dcs have been to is this one in Hide park/kensington gardens. We live in the North West so not exactly local. There is none that I know of here. There is plenty of really nice parks around, but no sandpits.

well I know that Kew Gardens had a sandpit beach a couple of years back which was a huge success, parents have been disappointed ever since has it has not been repeated.
no idea where the nearest one to us is

and toilets yes horrible shortage they should extend the scheme with local businesses allowing use of toilet without purchase

There are none around here but DS loves the one at Finsbury Park and the one on hyde park.

I don't mind that there are none round here, with the potential for cat and dog shit and hidden droken glass and needles etc.

We do still have a big local paddling pool, but it contains so much chlorine you can smell it a mile away and DS's eyes are always puffy and red after unsing it. Doesn't stop him though