Charging visitors for parking at parks like Golden Acre and Temple Newsam is a tax on fresh air - Yorkshire Post Letters

I agree that by charging visitors who regularly go to visit a large park, like Golden Acre or Temple Newsam parks in Leeds or North York Moors National Park is basically putting a tax on fresh air (The Yorkshire Post, August 18, 2024).

The cost of driving a car is escalating, with costly petrol or diesel prices, car tax which increases every time there is a budget these days and car insurance premiums are costing more each year.

Adding a car parking charge makes the trip to the park a luxury for some families and especially elderly people who may be lonely and need to get outdoors to enjoy the wildlife in a natural settin̈g or meet a friend.

This will both help mental health as you can 'switch off' temporarily to life's problems for a short time and for those who like walking it is the perfect exercise breathing clean fresh air, especially after a rain shower.

Are local authorities and National Parks using the funds they are allocated effectively?

These days there are more efficient grass cutting machinery on the horticultural machinery market, due to manufacturers of ground care machinery designing mowers which do the job and some will 'mulch' grass cuttings saving on collecting the 'arisings' to give a decent finish. Whereas in the 1960s and 1970s mowers were adapted from agricultural machinery variations of mowers.

Techniques like 'differential mowing' will save on cost as grass is cut at different heights and regimes allowing some areas to set seed.

As many able-bodied workers are retiring early, with some missing working with others, there is a bank of enthusiastic workers willing to volunteer who want to help improve the environment and be outside, especially if they have worked in either an office or factory.

There are some excellent examples in West Yorkshire in towns like Todmorden or Sowerby Bridge and Filey in North Yorkshire where parks friends groups have informally adopted parks and small open spaces and are helping parks staff maintain shrub and perennial border areas.

I am sure that this happens in other areas in South and East Yorkshire and park managers need to get out of their offices and meet park user groups and find out what they want from their parks and 'culture' them into helping out to achieve these goals or objectives.

David Welch, who was one of the founding members of Britain in Bloom competition, got communities involved in park development and management when he was in charge of parks in Aberdeen where he organised planting of millions of Daffodil bulbs and thousands of Rose bushes on the central reservations on major roads into the Granite City at little cost to the city council, as he got sponsorship from local companies so the cost were minimal with a wow effect for most of the year.

I had the privilege of working for David Welch when he was appointed as the first chief executive officer of London's Royal Parks and he reintroduced Shire Horses to Richmond Park in Surrey for timber extraction from woodlands to the sawmill which made timber park furniture for Richmond and the other Royal Parks.

David Welch is well respected in the public parks sector and by King Charles as he put his thoughts into writing a book titled Management of Public Parks.

Modern park managers should read David Welch's book as there are examples on ways of maintaining parks and open spaces efficiently at little cost.