Town hall looks for ways to cut upkeep of parks

ACTION NEEDED BECAUSE OF JOB LOSSES

WAYS to reduce maintenance work needed in a borough’s parks – to compensate for savingsdriven staff cuts over the years – have been introduced.

Some councillors are critical about the state of Calderdale’s parks and green spaces, saying people are put off using them as a result.

Staff reductions on Calderdale Council’s green spaces team, having to be made over 14 years of public spending cuts, have seen the numbers reduce by 70 people since 2012, said a senior councillor.

And a lot would not be possible without around £500,000 worth of work which valued volunteer groups undertake, said council cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, Clr Jenny Lynn (Lab, Park), answering criticisms at a meeting of the full council.

Clr Abigail Carr (Lib Dem, Warley) had said Calderdale residents were lucky to have access to amazing countryside and being outside brought physical and health benefits.

“It is sad, urban green neglected.

“In my own ward, there are beautiful parks and green spaces but councillors hear time and time again that people are deterred from using them as they are neglected and not really fit for use,” she said.

Clr Carr cited dog fouling and rubbish left around Roils Head Moor, badly-worn goal areas at Mount Tabor Park, making it “unusable” and residents feeling West View Park had become “overgrown and neglected”.

Lighting was an issue, particularly where safety of women and young girls was concerned.

“It means taking the little steps to make sure they are well-maintained, that lighting works, clamping down on anti-social behaviour and empowering our communities to be able to take some ownership of their green spaces,” she said.

Clr Lynn said she echoed sentiments about the benefits parks had on health.

“However, the green space service has not been immune to the then, spaces to see

being cuts that have had to be made over the last 14 years – one illustration of that is that there are around 70 less posts in the service than in 2012.

“Clearly, this puts pressure on the remaining staff as the number of sites requiring maintenance hasn’t reduced.

“In this context, our staff do their best to not only improve the appearance of parks and open spaces but also improve the cleanliness, safety and visibility,” she said.

Clr Lynn said this included exploring new ways to reduce maintenance in ways meeting other policy objectives – for example, allowing grass to grow wild in certain places, benefiting the ecosystem, but cutting back vegetation in others to increase visibility and help safety.

In the case of Mount Tabor it was classed as “kickabout” space so not maintained as a formal pitch would be.

She said “friends” groups for parks were much valued – this year alone more than 34,000 hours of work had been undertaken by them, equating to around £500,000 worth.