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Knowsley Council to Sell off Prescot Parkland to Fund Other Parks
Knowsley Council voted last night (Tuesday 28 November) to sell off several parks across the borough.
The list of land to be sold includes the King George V Playing Fields, known locally as Brown’s Field, in Prescot.
The Knowsley Parks and Green Spaces Review Board recommended 10 percent of the borough’s parks be sold to raise enough money – an estimated £40 million – to establish a trust to invest perpetually in the remaining 90 percent.
A public consultation presented this and one other option – to raise income through park-based events and activities, which the board said would lead to a shortfall and eventually closure.
Council Blames Cuts
Council Leader Cllr Andy Moorhead blamed £86m in government cuts for the move, and said the new model “safeguards the future of our parks and green spaces for generations to come.”
He added that if the council did not take action, “we will see a return to the ’70s and ’80s, with the gradual deterioration of these wonderful community assets.”
Greens Oppose Park Sell-off
But Knowsley Green Party were quick to criticise the decision, which was voted for unanimously by the council’s Labour Majority.
Green Prescot town councillor Kai Taylor complained that the board was not independent, as it was chaired by a former Liverpool Labour councillor. He said the consultation was rushed, poorly publicised and excluded residents who didn’t have internet access.
Cllr Taylor described Brown’s Field, notable as the site of the annual Prescot Carnival, as “a much-loved community asset.”
Protest Planned
The Greens have invited residents to a peaceful protest outside the Knowsley Council Municipal Building in Huyton on Wednesday 13 December at 3.45pm.
Knowsley Parks to Be Sold Off
The full list of parklands to be sold to establish the trust is as follows:
- Alt Park (part of)
- Broad Lane Playing Fields
- Copthorne (adjacent community centre not included)
- Court Hey Park (part of – pending separate tender exercise relating to the future of former National Wildflower Centre)
- Cowper Way
- Field Lane
- Finch Wood
- Frederick Lunt Playing Fields
- Grace Park
- Halewood Doorstep Green (part of)
- King George V Playing Fields, Prescot
- Pool Hey Playing Fields
- Roby Playing Fields (adjacent community centre not included)
- St John’s Millennium Green
- Spring Wood
- Syders Grove (part of)
- Westview
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