Parks are very important in our lives, especially for those without a garden (Joggers and drinkers: what a day in the life of a Leeds park tells us about modern Britain, 29 September). Councils have no obligation to support, or even have, a park, so parks need vigilant friends who can fight off developers, or the council itself, from taking over what is a cheap greenfield site – often in a desirable area – for building or infrastructure.
Most have no legal protection, which is why we in Nottingham are amazingly fortunate to have 130 acres of green spaces given by the town’s Inclosure Act of 1845, therefore theoretically protected from commercial use (although we have lost a few acres).
We have four parks, including an important arboretum, and three miles of tree-lined walks encircling the city centre. To celebrate these, there has been an annual walk each summer, the last one, in 2019, started by the city’s head of parks. A video was made and can be seen online under “Nottingham’s inclosure walk”. It is hoped that when things return to normal the plan to make it a “town trail” will be completed so that visitors can enjoy it by themselves. A place to switch off and reset the day indeed.
June Perry
Nottingham
