Green space is important. Whether people live in inner-city streets, on council estates or in private developments where gardens of new houses are growing ever smaller, they need pockets of greenery to break up the bricks and mortar.

Such areas can be an important community amenity, used by children as playgrounds for a wide variety of games and even by adults as places where residents can get together, even if only once a year for a neighbourhood bonfire and barbecue.

On the other hand, a patch of open land can also become a problem and an eyesore, taken over by the local yobs as their hang-out or used as a dumping ground by people who can't be bothered to dispose of their rubbish properly.

Bradford Council is going to have to bear both sides of the coin in mind as it undertakes its review of pockets of green space which remain in its ownership following the transfer of the property on its estates to Bradford Community Housing Trust.

It is bound to be tempting for the authority to lean towards wholesale disposal of these "green lungs". Together they are believed to be worth about £7 million but they cost £2 million to maintain. At a time when council tax has risen alarmingly, the Council is right to be looking at every means possible of raising money.

However, it would be very wrong to decide on a blanket policy. Even though it might prove to be a time-consuming exercise, the case for and against each patch of land needs to be looked at carefully with full consultation with local people before individual decisions are taken.