Average spend down on local authority parks

AVERAGE spending on parks across Scotland’s 32 local authorities has reduced in real terms by more than 30 per cent over the ten years between 2010/11 and 2019/20.

The findings are contained in a publication issued by The Improvement Service, which describes itself as the “national improvement organisation for local government in Scotland”.

And over the ten-year period, the average spend per 1,000 people reduced in real terms by 34.2 per cent, from £30,546 to £20,107.

Says the National Benchmarking Overview Report 2019/20 (here): “In 2019/20, the average cost of parks and open spaces was £20,107, ranging from £898 – £44,181. The variation across councils has narrowed since the base year due to a signi cant cost reduction at the higher end.

“In previous years, councils with higher levels of deprivation spent significantly more on parks and green spaces. However, due to a sharper reduction in spend in these authorities this is no longer the case. Costs have reduced by 41 per cent in the most deprived councils compared to 26 per cent in the least deprived councils.”

However, over the same decade, satisfaction levels in parks and open spaces barely changed, at around 83 per cent satisfaction levels.

Pictured: Edinburgh Meadows; Picture credit: Place Design Scotland