Urban parks suffer from ‘rapidly dwindling’ funds

Urban parks have been “squeezed by budget cuts” and need a boost, a new report has claimed. Research carried out by The Ramblers and the Town and Country Planning Association found that “rapidly dwindling” funds had resulted in poor maintenance and a drop in people visiting.

A survey carried out for their report, which interviewed 1,000 people, found that a third of 16 to 24-year-olds resisted visiting parks over “safety concerns”.

The report authors argue that cuts to the park ranger service and a reduction in funding for the maintenance of green spaces had led to the figure.