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A senior Labour councillor and Parliamentary candidate has called for a "grown up conversation" on ‘levelling up’ plans after hitting out at the Government over cuts to funding for parks.

Councillor Jonathan Brash, deputy leader of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Labour opposition grouo, claimed budgets for parks and open spaces in the town have been “slashed” by national leaders over the last decade.

His attack followed confirmation the council had received £85,000 from the Government’s Levelling Up Parks Fund for “significant refurbishments” for Burn Valley Gardens.

And while Cllr Brash insisted he welcomed the investment, he also said spending on parks had been “stripped to the bone”, arguing the council’s funding for the area for 2022/23 is around £300,000 less than in 2010/11.

New funding for Burn Valley Gardens has prompted wider arguments about the state of Hartlepool's parks.

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“My concern is about having a bit more of a grown up conversation about what we mean when we say ‘levelling up’,” he told Thursday’s (October 20) meeting of the local authority’s Adult and Community-based Services Committee.

“The revenue budgets are so, so squeezed, in real terms we’re looking at close to £1 million taken out of our green spaces, it’s £300,000 cash, and with revenue and inflation that equates to a lot more.

“Handing out small pots of money to replace gigantic cuts in revenue is not levelling up anything.”

Cllr Brash added the Levelling Up Parks Fund “essentially pitched” parks in Hartlepool against each other due to the limited cash available.

He also stressed the importance of the difference between revenue cuts, which affect maintenance of existing attractions, and capital funding for new projects.

Cllr Brash added: “How are we going to get to the position where actually we can protect our parks and green spaces in a way that means that they stay valued assets for our communities?”

Jill Harrison, council director of adult and community based services, said the council recognised park budgets were “under significant pressure”.

She added: “We obviously welcome the funding and the proposal I think for the Burn Valley Gardens is fantastic, but inevitably that does mean there are things that we would like to do equally in other parks.

“I think we’re doing what we can to protect the future of the parks and in terms of sustainability we absolutely acknowledge the points that it is challenging.”

New cash for Burn Valley Gardens prompts debate over the wider state of parks in Hartlepool