HELENSBURGH residents have been urged to appreciate their local park during Love Parks Week.

Love Parks Week was set up by organisers for residents all over the UK to utilise and enjoy their local parks.

Many parks have been putting on special events to commemorate the week, however due to Covid restrictions there are no events taking place near Helensburgh.

However, Friends of Hermitage Park, a local community group dedicated to the prosperity of the local park, have urged locals to enjoy their local green spaces.

A spokesperson said: “Although there are no organised events to celebrate ‘Love Parks Week’ due to Covid restrictions on numbers of people and the general uncertainty of what we can do and when, we are delighted to see how many people are enjoying and loving the rebuilt park.

“The Friends certainly love Hermitage Park and we are pleased to have played a part in saving it and transforming it into such a valuable community asset.

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“The park has been a lifeline to many during the pandemic and we hope the park now has many new friends who will enjoy it, and love, protect, and respect it in the years to come.”

Ross Greer, Green MSP for the West of Scotland, said: “With most of us spending more time close to home recently, we’ve seen the huge value of having access to local parks.

“They have quite literally been a lifeline for many during the pandemic, particularly those without private gardens and with young children.

“Protecting these spaces from housing developments and maintaining them to a high standard can be a big challenge.

“The Greens have proposed that a Community Fund be established for exactly this purpose.”

Love Parks Week organisers are calling on the UK Government to address urgent issues affecting green spaces, including funding, access, climate change and biodiversity.

A spokesperson for the Love Parks Week initiative said: “We know that to protect parks, a policy is needed at the highest level.

“And so, in 2020, Keep Britain Tidy established our Parks and Green spaces All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), consisting of MPs who care passionately about parks and green spaces and will advocate for them.

“The more members we have signed up to the Parks APPG, the more we can hold the government accountable and influence this agenda.”

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