Bexley quietly withdraws cash from services

For those keeping an eye on local services, some people may not be too fully aware of the cuts that Bexley Tories have made within the borough. One cut that will slowly become evident is the withdrawal from the Green Flag Award scheme.

The flag to the left is the borough flag, which has quietly replaced the prestigious Green Flag that has flown at the flag pole that was specially erected at Lesnes Abbey park after Bexley was awarded it a few years ago.

For the uninnitiated, the scheme is run by Keep Britain Tidy organisation, and was launched in 1996 to promote the best individual parks and open spaces around the country. It's a great scheme, because local authorities LOVE to enter awards (self promotion is important to councils. They want to show value for money and tell people that a service they provide is greeeatttt) and for them to get the award it helps raise standards. It's a win-win situation. The council provides a better service, and the public receive a better service.

In the Green Flag Scheme, parks must be freely accessable to the public and perform well against eight criteria:
A welcoming place
Healthy, safe and secure
Clean and well maintained
Sustainability
Conservation and heritage
Community involvement
Marketing
Management

There's also a cost to enter: a site 300 hectares and over is £345, 20-299.99 hectares is £258.75, and 0-19.99 hectares is £201.25, not much, and is really for administration purposes. To retain the flag, a park has to be entered every year, thereby keeping standards high.

In Bexley, when the Labour group were in charge (2002-2006) we were proud that five of our key parks, our prestigious parks, became Green Flag holders: Hall Place Gardens, Lesnes Abbey, Danson Park, East Wickham Open Space and Foots Cray Meadows. I love all these parks, and visit them all regularly with the dog and the kids. So much to do, and such parks to be proud of.

Which brings me to the Tories withdrawing so much funding from their parks budget that four our of five parks have now lost their Green Flag status. This, I think, is truly awful. At what stage does funding become so scarce that Bexley couldn't fulfil what criteria?

I realise that for some people this would seem necessary, a belief that it's better to make cuts here then in core areas. But it isn't the case. Bexley Tories are slashing budgets, and I highlight parks simply because it's visually obvious to anyone who will visit.

It's a thin end of a potentially large wedge, and I personally believe that we can't go on like this.