The future management of parks and countryside services in the Wirral is to be decided this week.

Wirral Council will meet on Thursday (22 July) to discuss a report - the culmination of an extensive review that began on 26 June - that recommends that the management, administration and operation of the services be transferred to a single contractor.

The assets themselves would not be transferred, and the council would remain responsible for ensuring that quality standards are retaining and, wherever possible, improved.

The services in question include: Parks, golf courses, cemeteries and crematoria, rangers, beach lifeguards, allotments, maintenance of highway verges and trees and war memorials.

David Elderton, cabinet lead for culture, tourism & leisure, said: “Wirral’s parks and countryside are important to so many people and this is a tremendous opportunity to achieve a real change for the better in the future delivery of these much-loved services.

“The proposed new contract will deliver increased service quality and a real opportunity for local people to influence the management of these valuable assets. The contract will deliver tangible benefits for residents ranging from better security in parks to enhanced conservation of our local environment that plays so important a part in what makes Wirral special."