Yorkshire parks worthy of more than 'Cinderella' departments - Yorkshire Post Letters

It is no surprise that that the Yorkshire and Humber region has the lowest number of parks and open spaces outside London, (The Yorkshire Post, May 19).

The annual green spaces audit by the charity Fields in Trust has highlighted the decline in open spaces as councils have sold off school playing fields to developers.

In addition, the impact of austerity measures brought about by David Cameron’s and the coalition Government’s reduction in funding to local authority’s has accelerated the decline, as councillors and council senior management teams, have treated parks departments and leisure directorates as the ‘Cinderella’ department, by taking the easiest option when making budget cuts!

The only exception in these departments is by maintaining sufficient budgets for cemetery and crematoria management, which are statutory services which are provided by local

authorities.

There are exceptions, with Harrogate and Rotherham, for instance spending more on parks and open space maintenance, and with the help of community groups, going on to win awards in Yorkshire in Bloom, and if standards in parks and green open spaces are exceptional, then these towns going on to win a category in the RHS Britain in Bloom competition.

At the other end of the scale, local authorities like the one where I live, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, have reduced staff employed in groundsperson roles, with the staff employed on horticultural at Sowerby Hall being ring-fenced.

Town councils such as Beverley, Driffield and Hornsea have provided some seasonal and permanent flower beds paid for by a local precept to residents.

Residents in all four corners of East Yorkshire pay the same amount of Council Tax to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for green open spaces management in the towns where they live.

But the level of service provision varies widely between the towns of Beverley and Withernsea.

The Government has set targets for tree-planting on public owned land maintained by councils, but by reducing grounds, staff numbers, councils such as the East Riding of Yorkshire, will struggle with the resources to only mow grass verges and open spaces – and shrub beds on council-owned car parks are often neglected!