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MNHQ

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

110 replies

HelenMumsnet · 03/06/2009 10:03

Morning all.

The Telegraph is planning to run a story on the not-so-gradual disappearance of sandpits from public parks and playgrounds - and they want to know what Mumsnetters think about it all.

Is there a public sandpit near you? Do you take your kids to it? And would you (and they) miss it if it closed?

Or do you dislike/avoid them - and think it's a good idea they're disappearing?

OP posts:
BonsoirAnna · 03/06/2009 10:34

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.

spicemonster · 03/06/2009 10:36

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

TabithaTwitchet · 03/06/2009 10:41

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.

Tortington · 03/06/2009 10:42

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

nickytwotimes · 03/06/2009 10:47

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.

TheArmadillo · 03/06/2009 10:48

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.

spicemonster · 03/06/2009 10:48

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?

whistlejacket · 03/06/2009 10:50

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?

CrouchingTigger · 03/06/2009 10:52

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?

mynameis · 03/06/2009 10:59

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.

mrsgboring · 03/06/2009 11:07

I grew up by the sea and consequently regard regular sand play as a child's birthright.

There is a sandpit on a local farm near us which is very popular and well-maintained. We often make a special detour to the Regent's Park sandpit if we're travelling through London, and last year's holiday to Denmark and Germany nearly every playground had sand either under the equipment, or as a dedicated pit or both. I have occasionally worried about cleanliness but not that much - I just remind myself of all the manky and dangerous places I used to play as a child. Even in the 1970s people were still occasionally turning up barbed wire and explosives from WWII on British beaches, but I would have been devastated to have been kept off the beach in consequence.

Lizzylou · 03/06/2009 11:08

There is one nearby, it is great, lots of diggers and scoops etc only problems are that it is always very busy and often the sand is very wet (we live in Lancashire) so can be very messy.
The childrens play park is gated and no dogs allowed and it is very well maintained, very clean.
I have seen a few (then ushered away the boys) that were just full of fag butts/litter and dog poo.
If a council/organisation is going to install them then they have to keep them clean and seperate.

ProfYaffle · 03/06/2009 11:14

The only one I know of is on Gorleston sea front, it's like flamingobingo describes, large wooden pirate ship climbing frame sat in sand. The dc love it but it's a pita as they always want to take their shoes off whatever the weather and they fetch bucketloads of sand into the car on their feet.

I hadn't thought of cat shit, but I certainly will now!

Jux · 03/06/2009 11:14

There are lots of small 'play parks' in our area - one for each estate really. I have not seen any sandpits at all - mind you, we're not that far from the sea so that may be why. I wouldn't object to sandpits and can only think the councils avoid them because of expense (?), fear of being sued for sand in eyes, or because we are near the sea.

hobbgoblin · 03/06/2009 11:16

We go to Clarence Park in St Albans which has a big sand pit with play equipment in it. This is my DC's idea of a great day out. The Sand pit always seems clean enough, though I did once spot a larval type creature in it which has since put me off going barefoot in any sandpit, but that's my phobia!

Parents bring toys and there are lots of scoops and buckets and things in there belonging to nobody in particular which never seem to get stolen or vandalised for some reason.

No dog poo because it is fenced off along with the rest of the play section. Probably lots of toddler wee and other germs but so long as they don't eat the sand I'm not worried.

Like all community resources, I think if they are enjoyed and not neglected by the people who want to use them then they are less of a target for vandals. It's all about community pride and responsibility imo. Your average bored teenager tends to have a conscience somewhere within and if they see a sandpit or park as something positive in their local community then they tend not to set light to it, drink beer in it, or get laid and smoke dope in it!

The parks where hardly anyone goes because the council neglects the space are the places that get trashed and so people go there even less...and so on...

hobbgoblin · 03/06/2009 11:25

Forgot to add, our school is fundraising (in vain hope) for a sand pit in the school grounds. The prohibitive factor is the cost of making it at cat and vandal proof. We are a small village school (not much money, thus) with less than 100 on roll.

If the Telegraph would like to contribute to our fundraising in exchange for my above contribution to their research, or would indeed like to celebrate our embracement of the whole sandpit concept and spearhead our school's campaign to raise funds for the project please do email me via mumsnet.

We are delightful mums and dads - all extremely photogenic.

EachPeachPearMum · 03/06/2009 11:30

We live within 1 mile of 4 different large parks- not one has a sand pit (nor paddling pool)

ohdearwhatamess · 03/06/2009 11:34

None in our village playground, or in the parks in our nearby town.

Nearest one to us (to my knowledge) is about 10 miles away (in a Letchworth playground) but I wouldn't let my dcs use it - it was full of broken glass and dog poo when we visited (we haven't been back since).

There are great sandpits and play areas (with diggers etc) at places like Willows in London Colney, Woodside in Luton, but obviously they cost money to use.

artichokes · 03/06/2009 11:34

We have a lovely sandpit in our local London park. It is packed every dry day as long as it is remotely warm enough to be outside. Families come from quite far to play in it. I would go as far as to say it is the most popular feature of our park (despite the competition of 3 playgrounds and a paddling pool).

Ours always looks clean to me, it is looked after well be the council. To be honest it has never occurred to me to worry about hygiene in the sandpit and I am quite anal about hygiene! I think it would be really, really sad if it went. In the end all our kids will be allowed to play in is a bleached box with padded walls. Then they will all get leukemia because their immune systems will never be challenged or allowed to do what they are meant to do (seriously, childhood leukemia rates are higher in richer, cleaner societies).

4andnotout · 03/06/2009 11:36

We have no parks with sand pits in our area, it's a shame really as pits and paddling pools are always my children's favorites.

Hassled · 03/06/2009 11:38

There's nothing quite as fun as bringing Bob, Scoop, Muck and Roley to the park and letting them unearth dog turds as part of their wacky building adventures.

Yes, they're great when you can be sure that you're only going to be digging up sand - as long as twats let their dogs into playgrounds (although in fairness it's sometimes fox poo) there's always that antipation of discovering the worst.

KingCanuteIAm · 03/06/2009 11:43

There are none near us, I think the cost of maintaining them probably is prohibitive, having to make sure they cannot be available for cats at all times, day and night and dealing with it if a cat does sneak in is a huge job!

There is an open farm with a large sandpit some distance away from us, my children do love it. I worry about its cleanliness as there is no cover, it is not possible to cover the pit because of the fixtures in it (wooden ship etc). Because it is on an open farm there are plenty of places to wash hands and hand gel etc. Like I said, I do worry that it is not clean but think that my children having fun is more important.

Having said all of that, I would not use a local sand pit with little maintainence though as there would not be washing facilities/gels etc available. I would also worry about what happens when the local teens are hanging around in the evenings and so on. Our local parks are well looked after but there is still broken glass around, condoms and so on - not all the time I admit but the idea that someone could think it was a laugh to stick a broken bottle in the sand or something would make me too nervous.

Unless it were possible to have the sandpit totally secure when the park is closed and the sand is raked and cleaned regularly I would not use it.

EvenBetaDad · 03/06/2009 11:48

They could stop the cat poo by putting a net over it at night?

Sad they put the lovely big kids paddling pool out of action at our park and now it is just an empty concrete shell covered in peeling paint.

They could have put sand in it. Huge numbers of kids could have used it.

UndertheBoredwalk · 03/06/2009 11:49

Was a bit baffled by this too, I've never seen a sandpit in a park, either when I was growing up or taking dd. None at all anywhere near me definitely.

KingCanuteIAm · 03/06/2009 11:51

The cat wee is also a big problem IMO, you just don't see it! If you cannot keep cats totally off then it is a problem!