Some of the less publicised cuts imposed by the coalition government have been to parks, which have been hit by a mixture of incremental cuts and significant closures – with more planned by both Conservatives and Labour. Here in Coventry, in Spencer Park two important sports facilities (tennis courts and a flat bowling green) have been shut to the public. Its elegant pavilion too, in its centenary year, has been closed. The picture is repeated nationwide. The network of parks is a valuable and valued legacy from the 19th century, the creation of the public-health movement, popular demand and benefactors. Such parks survived two world wars, the 1930s, and the post-1945 austerity. Are they to be allowed to deteriorate or, worse, to be sold for development?
Paul Smith
Coventry
