TORFAEN was among 12 local authorities in Wales to have not received a penny of lottery funding for its parks and green spaces.

People have a newfound appreciation for their parks and green spaces since the country was laid low by the coronavirus.

However, tightening council budgets have left many communities more reliant on other ways of raising cash to care for these refuges. A significant source is lottery funding.

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The National Lottery Heritage Fund is a major distributor of lottery money – it handed out £406 million for parks and similar green spaces across the UK in the decade to 2019-20, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

But analysis shows these grants, for which councils and other organisations can apply, are unevenly spread across the country.

Parks and similar green spaces in Torfaen – or projects directly linked to them – received no funding from the NLHF over the period.

The data includes funding for public parks and squares, cemeteries and pay-to-enter gardens.

Torfaen was among 12 local authorities across Wales to receive no funding, although the NLHF says it is possible parts of some projects were in those places, but the spend logged elsewhere.

Helen Griffiths, chief executive of Fields in Trust, said the virus has put a spotlight on inequality of access to the outdoors across the country.

The charity’s Green Space Index estimates around 500 people in Torfaen live more than a 10-minute walk from a green space.

The group says it is working in areas with the poorest access to try to address these “significant” imbalances.

“Directing lottery funding to those with limited access to green space, could help to level up distribution,” said Ms Griffiths.

“They are arguably the most universal of all our public services. Yet unlike education or libraries, parks are a discretionary service which councils have no statutory duty to provide.”

Grants given to projects in Wales totalled £16.5 million over the last decade. At £5.25 per head, this puts it fifth of the 12 UK regions: nine in England and the three other UK nations.

Carmarthenshire received the most of any area nationally, at a healthy £33.94 per head.

Rachael Maskell, Labour’s shadow minister for the voluntary sector and charities, said the differences were stark.

“Action must be taken to ensure that everyone has access to safe, green spaces and parks,” she said.