'Biggest investment' in parks approved - council

Hull Road Park is one of the sites in York set to benefit from the funding

Work to improve 19 parks and open spaces in York at a cost of £750,000 has been approved.

The projects included resurfacing footpaths, installing new play equipment and repairing fences and gates, according to City of York Council.

The authority said initial funding of £500,000 had already been backed as part of its budget for the current financial year, however further sources of cash had also been found from outside the council.

The list of projects was drawn up following an assessment of more than 70 sites and schemes across York and was approved by the council's executive last week.

Parks were scored based on the deprivation of the areas where they were located, the age of equipment and the ability to secure further external funding.

The potential for works to help secure Green Flag status for parks was also taken into account.

Officials told councillors in September they were confident the 19 projects could be completed in about 18 months, with work starting on the first batch in three months.

Jenny Kent, the Labour administration's environment spokesperson, said the improvements would do a huge amount of good, but funds would not allow everything to be done at once.

A new playing surface is part of improvements planned for a basketball court in York's Rowntree Park

One resident, Gwen Swinburn, criticised the authority at the meeting of the executive for overlooking King George's Playing Fields in Fossway, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"The council's duty to maintain it has been ignored for years. Its facilities are deplorable. King George's Playing Fields has almost nothing, so there's nothing to renew or replace," she said.

"A park as fantastic as Hull Road would be a dream come true, yet there's six separate schemes for that park in a marginal ward."

Liberal Democrat opposition leader Nigel Ayre said improvements, particularly to Hull Road Park, were welcome, adding that there would always be issues with funding allocations.

"Investment in Hull Road Park is long overdue, though works on its pavilion are still only going to be looked at, but the need for them is obvious."

Kent said she rejected the accusation that the places had been ignored, adding that the focus on getting more Green Flag awards for parks was a Labour manifesto commitment which the party was delivering on.

"We'd always like to do everything, but we are doing a huge amount with this funding," she said.

"This is the biggest investment in our parks and open spaces in a generation.

"Structural input is needed at King George's Playing Fields. It's on the list for further accessibility improvements."

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