Reduced park ranger teams 'difficult to reconcile' in St Helens

Across the borough's parks, open spaces, and woodland sites, rangers are familiar faces who provide information and organise events and activities for residents.

Ranger teams also undertake conservation works, encourage community involvement, and work alongside community groups to help maintain the borough's green spaces.

However, St Helens Council says that "as the needs of communities and available funding changes", decisions have been made to restructure the service. 

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Sites such as Taylor Park have been left with just two rangers (Image: Stock)
Raising his concerns with the Star, a resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: "Rangers are the custodians of our parks and gardens, and are experienced, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable.

"They are compassionate and are as equally adept at handling and caring for sick and injured wildlife as they are in subtly caring for us; keeping St. Helens park-goers and our children safe in the town's green spaces.

"Their unique skills should be felt down the generations [...] but in in urban St Helens, these valuable employees had been reduced in number to just two.

"Any small financial saving garnered from such loss is difficult to reconcile with the vast expenditures seen elsewhere in the town.

"[If] we see our parks and gardens deteriorate and become unsafe, we should remember why and how this has happened."

The remaining rangers will work closely with the parks and landscapes teams (Image: St Helens Council)
With one ranger being relocated to the council's open space team, the remaining two rangers will continue their work alongside the parks and landscapes team, who are responsible for the general management of the borough's parks, playing fields, and gardens.

A St Helens Council spokesperson said: "Our ranger service continues to help and support communities across the borough to make the most of our many and varied outdoor spaces.

"However, as the needs of communities and available funding changes, we must and should use resources where they can best be deployed to deliver our key priorities.

"With this in mind, our ranger service is changing. The Ranger service will be reduced, with a member of the team reallocated to the open spaces team where their skills and expertise will be used to activate our parks, support communities, delivery specific projects and help groups to secure grant funding.

"The remaining members of the rangers team will continue to work closely with our parks and landscapes team to achieve one of our key council priorities outlined in our borough strategy of creating green and vibrant places that reflect our heritage and culture."