A WEEK rarely goes by without another story of how austerity is biting into public services.

The effects on the town brought about by year upon year of public sector cuts have been huge and the worry is the pain will deepen as the council finds another £20m of savings.

What is vital is that where these cuts are made they face proper public debate and scrutiny.

Over the past month, the Star has featured reports on a consultation about the parks and rangers service.

And this week voluntary groups representing many of our best loved open spaces have spoken of their fears of the damaging consequences of axing rangers and reducing maintenance and grass cutting.

Rightly, they have asked for more time for people to join in the consultation and the Star would urge readers to contribute to the discussion (See Simon Mulligan’s report here).

Parks are not classed as statutory services for councils, meaning they are potentially in the firing line when budgets become desperately squeezed.

But that does not mean they are not regarded as essential by the public. In fact some national surveys have suggested 75 per cent of people

In my view the parks of the St Helens borough enrich the lives of our communities.

They are places for young families to enjoy the open air and fun (for no cost), places where people can exercise and places where they can recover from illness.

They are places to escape the pressures of modern life, to ride a bike, to meet for a chat, to walk a dog.

They benefit the health and well being of our society.

When they are looked after like they should be – they are places of beauty that make us feel sense of civic pride.

St Helens Council, like many local authorities, faces some desperately difficult decisions, particularly in areas such as children and social care.

But the borough’s councillors need to listen carefully to the views of the public who elected them before making a decision that could have far reaching consequences for the borough’s health and appearance.