Tories claim council plans to leave parks unlocked at night (From Harrow Times)

Leader of Harrow's Conservative group, Susan Hall, claims Harrow Borough Council plans to leave parks unlocked at night

5:30pm Tuesday 22nd January 2013 in Headlines By Emma Innes

The leader of Harrow’s Conservative group has claimed that Harrow Borough Council plans to stop locking some parks at night.

Councillor Susan Hall says that buried in the budget are council plans to leave some parks unlocked.

She said: “Labour’s cut-riddled budget gives away so little about what’s behind individual savings that we are having to go through it almost line by line.

“I asked questions about a saving labelled ‘returning parks to open space’ and, incredibly, it emerged this includes some of Labour’s plans to leave parks unlocked.

“How can Labour pretend to be transparent with residents when they wrap something so potentially damaging up as something so innocent-sounding?”

Cllr. Hall added: “It would be an absolute disgrace if Labour went ahead with this decision.

“Leaving our parks unlocked – which are mostly unlit at night – makes them likely hotbeds for criminal behaviour and activity; particularly muggings, vandalism and assault-type crime.

“Harrow is a low-crime borough, and we want to keep it that way.”

The Harrow Times is awaiting a comment from the council.