Planned cuts at the parks department will leave Ipswich unkempt and untidy, UNISON warns today.
Ipswich Borough Council wants to chop a fifth of the workforce in the parks department, leaving grass verges unmown and parks unmaintained, says UNISON.
It comes despite the public’s increasing reliance on parks and other outdoor spaces for exercise and socialising during the pandemic.
Cuts are also planned in the council’s theatres, events and marketing teams which will deal a blow to culture in Ipswich, says the union.
UNISON Ipswich branch secretary David Rowe said: “The council isn’t just attacking parks workers’ livelihoods, it’s vandalising the whole town.
“Well-maintained parks and open spaces are increasingly vital to people’s mental and physical health, but these cuts will leave Ipswich unkempt and untidy.
“For years, the council has prided itself on its parks but it now wants to throw the people responsible for keeping them looking so great onto the scrapheap.
“We urge the council to act now before Ipswich becomes a scruffy mess.”
