Sowing the seeds for a life of crime
Your report last week about Peter Fawcett, who tended the gardens in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, for 32 years was enlightening – but for a bad reason.
He spoke of how the local council has cut the gardening budget, so that the beautiful flowers that Mr Fawcett has made sure adorned the town’s First World War memorial have been replaced with bark chippings.
Instead, Kirklees Council intends to lend £9million to developers to build a four-star hotel and indoor ski slope next to Huddersfield Town’s stadium.
This is short-termism in action. The upshot will be that people will not frequent the park so much, leaving it to become home to people who want to do things where they will not be seen.
And those now staying at home will not benefit from fresh air, a dose of Vitamin D and socialising. Crime will rise, as will health problems.
It’s no use councils chipping away at residual budgets so they can spend money on grandiose projects that could easily fail.
Huddersfield Town could well be relegated this season, and who’s to say they won’t be relegated again the following year? How attractive will a flash hotel be when the team next door are entertaining Accrington Stanley, not Manchester City? J. Benn, London
The Government and public bodies are always preaching about rising obesity levels but do they not see the correlation between the sale of school playing fields and parks to developers and the rise in sedentary lifestyles? J. Amos, Bexleyheath, Kent
Much has been made regarding councils in Scotland being unable to maintain public parks due to a shortage of money.
Maintenance of our parks needs much labour and this is where most of the money goes.
The Scottish Government and justice system use tagging and community sevice for criminals instead of jail – could these people not be used to keep our parks up to scratch for the public to enjoy?
There may be difficulties – such as supervision and health and safety issues – for both the public and criminals but surely these could be overcome.
Perhaps those people doing the community service would also see that there is a better way of life than crime. James Borland, Fife