Knowsley Council plans to sell off 10% of parks dropped

All of 18 of Knowsley's Green Flag parks are protected from any new development

Plans to sell off 10% of council parks are being scrapped as residents "value them too much to lose them", says the authority's new leader.

Knowsley Council in Merseyside planned to sell 17 sites saying it would protect the rest of its 144 parks from government funding cuts "forever".

The move was criticised by MPs and had been called in by councillors.

Councillor Graham Morgan said they were "one of Knowsley's greatest assets" and £1.3m of cuts would be found elsewhere.

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Labour-led Knowsley Council had planned to invest £40m from the sale of land into a charitable trust over the next 15 years to fund its remaining 144 parks.

It said the funding for its green spaces would end next March as it could no longer afford the £1.3m annual costs.

Councillor Morgan said: "We will still have to make savings to balance our budget, and that is not going to be easy, but we know that our residents want us to look elsewhere."

Maria Eagle, Labour MP for Garston and Halewood, who had criticised the proposals, said she welcomed the decision and congratulated the Knowsley Council leader.

Knowsley MP George Howarth and Marie Rimmer, St Helens South MP, had also asked the council to rethink the plans.

Green Party councillor Kai Taylor said the move was "refreshing" and it was a "decisive victory for people power".