Upset after popular splash pad covered up

Residents are expressing disappointment at a decision by a council to cover over a popular water play facility.

A splash pad had been in Mundy Playing Fields in Thornbury for 10 years and was popular with families, who could take their children to splash in shallow water during warm weather.

However, just as temperatures approach 30C, it has been covered over with wood chippings and park benches and turned into a picnic area.

Thornbury Town Council (TTC) said the splash pad had reached "the end of its operational life".

"The splash pad has been well-used and much-loved over the years, but it has been deteriorating, despite ongoing maintenance efforts by the council," a TTC statement said.

The council added it understood the facility, near Bristol, was important and it considered creating a new one "a priority".

Matt Garland, from near Stroud in Gloucestershire, said he had only visited the park for the splash pad.

"We thought, you know, nice day, we'll bring the kids down and have some fun, but unfortunately it's gone," he added.

Mr Garland said he was "disappointed" by the removal and the splash pad's replacement.

"It's literally just a few benches put up and some woodchippings, so it seems like a bit of a cop out," he added.

Another visitor to the park said she felt the benches would be better placed elsewhere.

"To sit there [in the old splash pad] in a circle with everybody looking at each other, that seems really strange," she said.

"They'd have been better to put the picnic tables further up in the park, so that anybody that's coming in can sit there," she added.

The council said it intended to create a new and improved water facility, but when this would be done and how much it would cost is not currently clear.

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