A CAMPAIGN claiming council bosses are planning to sell off its parks has been branded a “scurrilous lie” by a leading Conservative councillor.
About 20 members of the city’s Labour group turned out at Cripplegate Park on Sunday (January 18) to launch a campaign calling on the Tory-led council to stop alleged plans to “privatise” the city’s park .
However, these claims have been firmly denied by Coun Marc Bayliss. deputy leader of Worcester City Council, who accused the opposition of “frightening” the public.
Coun Joy Squires, the city’s Labour parliamentary candidate, has also set up a petition to try and get people behind what the political group have described as their “biggest ever campaign”.
“I am asking Worcester residents for their help because only public pressure can save our parks,” she said. “Please help by signing the petition and wearing a green ribbon, to celebrate our beautiful and historic parks and to show that Worcester people believe this to be a privatisation too far.”
Labour leader Coun Adrian Gregson added: “Our parks are essential publicly owned spaces. Previous generations have helped to create beautiful parks for the people of our city to enjoy.
“They should not be hived off and run for private profit. Parks should be provided by the local council for the benefit of the people of Worcester.”
This campaign comes after the city council announced plans to outsource many of its cleaner and greener services which include bin collections, street cleaning and grass cutting.
However, Coun Bayliss, who turned out to see the demonstration, insisted parks would “never be up for sale” while the Conservatives were running the city council.
“There is absolutely no truth in this,” he said. “It is scurrilous to be honest and I shall be reporting it to the managing director because Labour councillors who know the truth are deliberately lying to the public.
“The only thing we are doing is outsourcing the cleaner and greener services, like the man who cuts the grass.
“We will still own the parks and commission the services. It is just the people delivering it who will not work for Worcester city.
“It is a scurrilous lie which is being put out there to frighten people and that’s what’s worse about it.
“It’s a joke when it is Labour members laughing among themselves, but it is not a joke when they are frightening members of the public who might think this is going to happen.”
