Communities will be given right to turn eyesores into parks, says Labour

People seeking to canoe or swim sometimes face threats or abuse from landowners of riverbanks, which are often on private land. Photograph: Harry Green/Alamy

Local communities would be given the right to buy up derelict eyesores and turn them into parks under a Labour government, while walkers and potentially swimmers would gain access to hundreds of miles of river pathways, the party has pledged.

Labour will make a direct appeal to voters’ patriotism, presenting the restoration of nature as a matter of national identity and status.