Parks facing period of decline with severe consequences, CLG Committee report warns
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· Councils
should publish strategies recognising the value of parks in context
of wider local objectives
· Considerable
challenges include reduced local authority budgets and pressures to
increase housing supply
· Innovation
in management models and funding sources needed to sustain parks in
some council...Request free trial
Public parks are at a tipping point and face a period of decline with potentially severe consequences unless their vital contribution to areas such as public health, community integration and climate change mitigation is recognised, the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee warns in a report published today. The Public parks report highlights considerable challenges including reduced council spending, with parks management budgets cut by up to 97 per cent, the need for parks to compete with other services for funding and planning policy not giving them enough weight, particularly as a result of pressures to increase housing supply. The Committee call on councils to publish strategic plans, which recognise the value of parks beyond leisure and recreation and set out how they will be managed to maximise their contribution to wider local authority agendas, such as promoting healthy lifestyles, tackling social exclusion and managing flood risk. It is hoped these plans will open up parks to support and funding beyond their usual budgets and service areas. The Government should issue guidance to councils to work with Health and Wellbeing Boards and other relevant bodies to publish these joint plans and consider making producing such a strategy a legal requirement if the guidance proves ineffective, the report adds. Clive Betts MP, Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, said: “Every local authority should have a strategic plan, recognising that parks are much more than just grass and tulips and bringing in resources from outside the traditional budgets. Parks make vital contributions to physical and mental health and bring significant community benefits. They also contribute to biodiversity and climate change mitigation and can assist in local economic growth. “Parks are treasured public assets, as the overwhelming response to our inquiry demonstrates, but they are at a tipping point, and if we are to prevent a period of decline with potentially severe consequences then action must be taken. The Government have a leadership and co-ordination role to play and volunteers do fantastic work in the sector, but the primary responsibility lies with local authorities. “We will return to this to see what progress has been made before the end of the Parliament. We call on everyone who cares about parks to be our eyes and ears on the ground, particularly those who contributed to our inquiry, and keep up the pressure on national and local government.” Fundamental service transformation, which includes innovation in management models and funding sources and takes account of the broader value of parks, may also be needed to sustain parks in the long term, the report states. The Committee received a wide range of suggestions for alternative models and says the Parks Minister, Andrew Percy MP, the Local Government Association and local authorities should consider them. The Government should also look to remove barriers to these innovative approaches, such as considering a public interest test to enable local authorities to overturn restrictive covenants. The report also raises concern about the unequal distribution of parks, with many people in deprived areas struggling to access the benefits they can provide. The Committee warns that the UK may not meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11.7 in respect of safe and inclusive access to parks and green spaces by 2030, and says the Government should look at how to improve provision, such as by accessing funds available under the obesity strategy. The Committee also acknowledges that tensions can arise from competing demands among park users and says councils should encourage groups such as parkrun to contribute volunteer time for maintenance or fundraising activities. Other findings, conclusions and recommendations include:
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