Janine Kelly - Yoga teacher in Marple

Author Topic: Parks and Open Spaces Consultation - SAVE OUR PARKS  (Read 14964 times)

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Lily

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Re: Parks and Open Spaces Consultation - SAVE OUR PARKS
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2013, 11:04:16 AM »
Done it!
I certainly value our parks and green spaces.
The survey is very simple and anonymous. All they want is your post code.

admin

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    • The Marple Website
Parks and Open Spaces Consultation - SAVE OUR PARKS
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2013, 10:31:32 AM »
Stockport Council are proposing savage cuts from the Parks and Open Spaces budget in 2014/2015.

£1M (30%) is planned to be cut from a budget of £3.9M.

The proposals include things like:
No longer employing people with any horticultural knowledge to look after flowerbeds, trees, shrubs and parkland.
Removing instead of repairing or replacing broken play equipment.
Removing instead of repairing or replacing broken fencing, seating, signage, and other street furniture.
Picking up litter in parks NO MORE THAN once per week.
Fewer staff based at specific parks (this will almost certainly impact Marple Memorial Park's staffing).
Removing support to Friends of Park Groups, leaving them to try and get on with a bigger work load on their own.
A cessation or reduction in the frequency of hedge trimming, cutting grass, removing graffiti, pruning, weeding and maintenance of parks.

These changes will severely impact the quality of Marple's Parks, especially Marple Memorial Park, which takes a great deal of effort to keep it looking like it does now.

This is just the start of the biggest threat to community parks we have ever seen, or are likely to see.

As a non-statutory provision green spaces are an obvious and easy target for ongoing cuts, especially if the community does not rise up and object this time around.

The council have set up an on-line consultation to give you the opportunity to have your say here:

http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/councildemocracy/yourcouncil/haveyoursay/programmeforchange/parkandopenspaces/

It is vital that as many people as possible respond to this consultation to show how highly the Marple Community values its Green Spaces.  

The consultation continues until 31st May 2013. Please ask as many people as you can, all family members, neighbours, friends, etc to have their say.

The Friends of Marple Memorial Park and Stockport Greenspace Forum have asked for a paper version of this consultation for people who do not use the Internet.

Friends of Marple Memorial Park cannot stress strongly enough that this is YOUR chance to make your voice heard and to tell the powers that be that the voting public don't want this loss of service.

Please don't delay sharing your thoughts and ideas in this consultation, it is the one and only chance to do so.  Do it for your children and grandchildren - imagine a time with no green spaces for them to enjoy.

When you are asked for your postcode in the consultation please fill it in so that the council know that in Marple we care about our parks!


Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website