THIS was one of four areas where no green spaces were put under threat of sale, but even here residents have objected to the plan.

With nothing at risk, Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury-on-Trym residents sent in 51 pages of letters, e-mails and submissions.

One residents asked the council not to sell off any green spaces in Bristol.

Their statement read: "They are not yours to sell; they belong to the people who live in Bristol and should be preserved and passed on to future generations.

"We do not need to spend money enhancing parks or building fancy play areas."

Another comment said: "We would like to register our objections, along with thousands of other Bristol residents, to the proposals for the sale/closure of green spaces in North Bristol.

"To use them as an easy option when spending cuts are necessary is short-sighted and certainly not environmentally sound."

The council has always argued that selling green spaces is necessary to help invest in scores of other parks across Bristol, after a lack of investment for decades.

During the consultation period residents were asked to fill in questionnaires saying which of their local parks were most important to invest in and which investments in each park they wanted most.

Among the 67 people who responded, Canford Park was considered the most important to invest in, followed by Old Quarry Park.

In Canford Park the most popular proposal was adapting two of the tennis courts to provide a multi-use game area so it can be used for more sports, such as football, netball and basketball as well as a BMX area or wheels park.

Around half the respondents felt creating a new main entrance off Canford Lane to link with the library was important. Bottom of the list was introducing more signs or noticeboards to guide users around the park.

All of the public responses had names removed when the council published them last month.

One person said: "I have been a regular visitor to this parkland with children in tow for 36 years and have witnessed its slow decline in appearance.

"This park ought to be a top priority in this round of upgrades."

Thinning out the trees to make Old Quarry Park lighter and brighter was the most popular idea for that green space.

Creating a new walk around the western side of the park was felt to be the least important option.

Many of the other comments submitted by residents focused on Stoke Park playing fields, in particular developing it into a community facility for residents.

Brean Down Avenue amenity area came bottom of the list of areas that needed improving.

Money raised from sales will be added to funding from developer's, grants and the parks department budget and then divided between areas in the city.

Residents will be able to have their say on where the money should go at Neighbourhood Partnerships meetings, and over the next six months a "shopping list" of improvements will be drawn up for each area.

Council spokesman James Easey said: "We are now focusing on the investment in our parks and green spaces.

"We shall work with a sub-group of the Neighbourhood Partnership and representatives from local parks groups, and it will be for them to draw up a priority list of improvements and new facilities they would like to see for parks and green spaces in their area.

"When money becomes available, either through section 106, disposals or grant funding, we shall have a clear idea of which projects to take forward."