How much is Sefton Park worth?
ONE of Liverpool?s favourite parks has been valued at ?108m by the Government?s architectural watchdog.
Cabe, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, put the value on Sefton Park in a report aimed at revealing the true worth of the nation?s parks.
Cabe said its valuation was based on the park?s physical assets, excluding the land.
The council lists the value of the park as ?1, but Cabe wants councils to list the ?true value? of parks to encourage more investment in maintenance.
Last night, it said its new valuation framework includes park use as an indicator of the wider value provided by a green space to communities, as well as plants, trees, paths, venues such as the Palm House and sporting facilities.
The new framework could be used by local authorities to negotiate higher section 106 planning payments from developers, Cabe said.
Its report states that the value of the land itself is irrelevant, as it depends on its planning status, and cannot or will never be sold, and the land itself does not need maintaining.
Last night, Liverpool?s environment leader, Cllr Berni Turner, said: ?The ?1 value is merely an accounting device and does not reflect how much we value Liverpool?s parks.
?We are investing more than ?5m to transform Sefton Park and the final results this summer will be stunning.
?We?re restoring memorials, planting new flowerbeds, improving footpaths, landscaping the park and installing a new playground. This is just part of our multi-million pound investment in the city?s green spaces. You cannot put a cash value on Sefton Park. It?s priceless.
?But the Cabe research is interesting and is a good way of allowing residents to understand how valuable their local park is and realise just how lucky we are to have such an asset on our doorsteps.? more
Another visit to Sefton Park
