CONTROVERSIAL proposals to sell off areas of Burnley's open spaces are to be debated after the council revealed it could not afford to maintain its parks.

The council looks after 422 hectares, including open spaces and woodland and the town's six main parks, but does not have enough money to maintain all the areas in a safe condition.

One solution suggested in a radical review is to sell off surplus space -- although any such proposals are likely to meet with strong local opposition. A recent survey showed 58 per cent of the people questioned were opposed to sell-off plans.

The review revealed that funding for playgrounds was just £19,500 for 2001/2002, which is below the level needed to keep them in a safe condition. Other park features like footpaths, bridges, monuments and pavilions were also deteriorating and needed extra investment, it said.

A £1.6m bid for national lottery cash for improvements to Towneley Park is waiting for a decision.

The report said: "It is apparent that the council owns more park and open space land than it can afford to maintain. The problem is most acute in respect of funding for the repair and replacement of playgrounds, footpaths, tennis courts etc and a higher level of investment is required. However, funding for maintenance is also reducing and decisions need to be taken about where savings should be targeted."

The six main parks in the town, Towneley, Thompson, Queens, Scott, Ightenhill and Memorial Park were developed between 1890 to 1940 to provide open spaces for the people of the town. After about 1940 smaller parks, play areas and sports fields were also developed.

The council has worked out there is a surplus of 194 hectares of open space which could be sold to developers to save maintenance costs.

However, the public spaces are not evenly distributed through the borough. Towneley Park alone covers 180 hectares and Thompson Park, Queen's Park and Bank Hall Park, which cover 30 hectares, are all next to one another.

Areas like Daneshouse and the Stockbridge Road in Padiham are very short of open spaces.

The review recommends identifying open spaces that could be sold off and setting up a ten-year investment plan.

Other suggestions include the establishment of a Parks Investment Fund so money from land sold off could be put towards improving remaining parks.