UK children 'not couch potatoes'

Children prefer being outside on a sunny day, the survey found

British children may not be the couch potatoes many health experts have warned about, a survey has suggested.

The study commissioned by the Heritage Lottery Fund found many children liked to be active during their leisure time.

The charity quizzed more than 600 parents from across the country with children under the age of 11.

When asked what their children liked to do in their spare time, 86% said that when the weather was good they would rather go to the park than stay inside and watch television.

Around a third of people living in towns and cities visited their local parks at least once a week and sometimes every day, the research shows.

PARK LIFE

84% respondents in the north west of England read

74% in Yorkshire/Humberside followed a nature trail

47% have told someone they love them

83% said going to a park was important to them as children

Source: Heritage Lottery Fund

The study found that nearly two-thirds of grandparents took their grandchildren to the park regularly.

They said they enjoyed traditional pastimes such as feeding the ducks and going on the swings.

The charity said there was overwhelming public support for lottery spending on public parks and 30 million people in England alone use their local parks.

The study aimed to find out just how much people living in urban areas value their local parks, as part of a celebration of its £320 million investment in restoring public parks.

Funding plea

Chairman Liz Forgan called for significant funding to be allocated by local authorities, with support from the government, to ensure that restored parks continue to be looked after.

She said: "We still have concerns for the future. There is a dangerous gap between need and provision.

"Our investment so far needs to be sustained - how sad it would be to see the Heritage Lottery Fund 10 years hence having to revisit the same parks again."

Among the projects the charity has supported are:

• Restoration of Tollcross Park in Glasgow
• Birmingham Cathedral Churchyard's restoration is reported to have created 1,200 indirect jobs through office and retail developments which have been attracted to the area
• Since the restoration of Mowbray Park and Winter Gardens in Sunderland, visitor numbers have more than doubled.