In their report to the Executive Board dated the 8th October 2008, Parks and Countryside accept that the use of barbeques on the Moor causes damage to the park and is associated with anti-social behaviour. The report then states that their preferred solution to the problem is to restrict barbecuing to designated areas of the park, so as to contain the problem, rather than to prohibit it.
But the provision of designated areas alone will neither solve the problem, nor contain it. Continual monitoring will be needed to prevent barbeques being lit elsewhere than in the designated areas. At the same time, these areas will need continual maintenance and cleansing to ensure that they remain useable and do not become eyesores.
Since the report’s authors have rejected the request for park wardens on the ground that this would “not be the best use of limited resources available in the budget,” the report should provide evidence in the form of cost-benefit analysis, that the provision of designated areas would be a more effective use of resources than the provision of park wardens. In the absence of such evidence, the proposal to establish designated barbeque areas should have been rejected by the Executive Board. Instead, they’ve initiated a costly consultation exercise to gauge support for the proposal, an exercise which is itself flawed, just like the proposal.
References
Report of the Director of Development dated 8 October 2008