WE perhaps take it for granted, but Brighton and Hove is a wonderful green city.

From Preston Park to St Ann's Well, Queen's Park to The Level, you are never far from one of our wonderful green spaces.

It is perhaps only when they are neglected that we realise how fortunate we are.

Over the last few months our letters page has been full of correspondence relating to our parks.

This strength of feeling goes to show just how important these spaces are to us.

Of course, the team that manages our parks has to be subject to the budget cuts as any other department.

But the council should be wary of cutting too deep.

It is too easy for bean counters to sit in their offices and disregard parks as an aesthetic luxury that we don't really need.

That is simply not the case.

Our parks fulfill a vital role in maintaining the health of the city.

Not only do they keep the air clean, but they provide a space for people to exercise and play sport.

They also have a social function, in that they provide a place to meet and a place to play.

As budgets have got tighter, the council has increasingly looked to volunteers to step in.

There are many friends groups around the city, passionate about our parks, who are more than willing to help out.

But they should not be taken advantage of.

There are also many jobs which require professionals with specialist equipment.

Volunteers are only the answer up to a point.

Whatever happens next the council must stop the rot now before it is too late.

You only have to look at the mess we are in with the seafront arches to realise the consequences of doing nothing.