A report by UNISON says parks and greenspaces are falling into disrepair because of budget cuts. More than £15m has been cut from parks and greenspace budgets between 2016/17 and 2018/19, according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the councils responsible for parks in Britain. More than half (59%) of the 172 local authorities that responded had cut their parks and greenspace budgets between 2016/17 and 2018/19. The biggest cut was in Warwickshire County Council, which slashed its parks and greenspace budget by 87% in just one year, reducing spending from £108,268 in 2016/17 to £14,184 in 2017/18. Three Scottish Councils are in the ‘top’ 15 of local authorities with the biggest reduction in parks and greenspace budgets.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Parks and greenspaces are a vital local service, contributing to the health and well-being of communities in many ways. But years of funding cuts have left many of our parks run-down, under-staffed, and in need of urgent attention”. Read the full article