As we look forward to the end of lockdown – and yes, it is going to come to an end soon – let’s raise a glass to some of Glasgow’s greatest assets, that until the last year we probably all took for granted – our parks.

From pocket parks to Pollok Park, from Knightswood to Nitshill, our parks have been a lifeline. When the shops, cafes and pubs were all shut. When we couldn’t leave the city. When we couldn’t visit family and friends in their own homes. When all of this was not allowed, our parks were still open.

They became a life line. For exercise, for fresh air, for children’s play, for walking and meeting family and friends, even if that was just one to one, our parks became the ‘go to’ place to compensate for all the other places that were not allowed to be ‘go to’ places! I cannot think how we all would have coped without them.

Here in the west of the city, Victoria and Knightswood Parks have been our principal playgrounds, but there will have been many more neighbourhood parks that served our needs just as well.

But, as we may have taken them for granted in the past, so now we have come to appreciate them anew – and we have to make sure they are fit for the future. That will require two things.

The first is investment, so that our parks are attractive and welcoming. So I welcome the council’s budget decision to allocate more money for park investment, to be developed and agreed at a local level.

The second is continued use. The case for investment and maintenance is always made stronger by public popularity as it demonstrates that money spent is appreciated across the board. But continued use must also mean continued change and adaptation. Our parks cannot stand still; they have to adapt to changing needs and changing demands.

And one of the best ways for that to happen is for support to be given to the emergent ‘Friends’ groups of local residents who champion their local parks. Whether litter picking, graffiti removal or lobbying for resources, they are one of our most important resources.

So let’s hear it for our parks, for their maintenance and wellbeing, and for all of their ‘Friends’ groups. They have been our lifeblood over this last year.