A Parliamentary select committee has been looking at the need for parks and open spaces - a topic of real interest to many people here.

Arrow Valley Park is an asset. We need to make it a better, more interesting amenity. And maintaining open spaces properly costs money.

The council has an ongoing landscaping programme which aims to improve the local environment.

Clearing overgrown areas also means disposing properly of the rubbish dumped within them.

The committee's report argues councils' environmental performance should be judged on wider criteria than at present, including the prevalence of graffiti.

It suggests highway engineers have too much say in designing local layouts and that a broader perspective is needed. All road users need the means to make an effective contribution to such schemes.

It foresees councils should really be under a statutory duty to care for public spaces. It points out public parks and environmental projects are too dependent on lottery funding and on competitive bidding for very limited sums of money - so the process of getting any money to meet local needs is too haphazard.

The key conclusion is local communities need to articulate what they need in terms of public spaceand then lobby to try to secure less flimsy funding structures than the present ones.

In Redditch, we're seeing more and more pressure on our infrastructure as the national planning regime now allows intensive development of places like Feckenham Road. As we lose trees and gardens, it's vital our public spaces are really attractive and well used.

The current climate for local government, where Government departments huff and puff and pontificate without putting their money where their mouth is, means we must make the case for the priorities of the people of Redditch.

Any hope of wringing money out of the funding regime would depend first on a clear and clamorous vision of what our community needs.

And so groups like the Friends of Morton Stanley Park and the Redditch over-50s Forum can contribute to the role of standing up for Redditch.

I'd be interested to have input from individuals and community groups on what you want from our public spaces. Write to me at the Town Hall, Alcester Street, Redditch B98 8AH.

By Redditch Council Leader Gavin Smithers