England’s playgrounds crumble as council budgets fall

Children suffering from shameful' failure to protect play with park budgets falling by 350m in 11 years

Playgrounds around England are falling to pieces, missing large pieces of play equipment, or simply being locked up, as councils facing huge budget cuts struggle to maintain them. In some of the poorest parts of the country, family groups are warning that children face a summer spent indoors because of a lack of safe and free spaces to play.

The head of Play England has said that children's mental health will suffer as a result, and has called for radical change from what he called a shameful" lack of protection for children and play in planning.