Putting their money where their mouths are
Cuts in revenue expenditure. Loss of parks features and facilities. Reduction in the number of parks staff based on site. Heard this before? For the parks departments of many cash-strapped local authorities, this is an all too familiar mantra which has led to a serious decline in the condition of our parks and green spaces over the last two decades. Becky Volker looks at developments in Leicester where this trend is being reversed.
Cuts in revenue expenditure. Loss of parks features and facilities. Reduction in the number of parks staff based on site. Heard this before? For the parks departments of many cash-strapped local authorities, this is an all too familiar mantra which has led to a serious decline in the condition of our parks and green spaces over the last two decades.
The 27,000 urban parks which cover 143,000 hectares of the UK are a huge resource which improve the urban environment, enhance the health and vitality of our cities and their residents and impact significantly on the economy by attracting businesses, encouraging sustainable communities and pushing up the prices of nearby properties.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Roger Blackmore, Leader of Leicester City Council, recognises these wide ranging benefits. Leicester City Council is set to address the trend of declining urban parks by reinvesting £2.7m in Leicester’s parks and green spaces over the next three years.
“We are committed to making significant environmental improvements in the city. Our vision is to see Leicester renowned for its good quality parks; we want people from the city and beyond to visit our parks and we want other local authorities to take note and be motivated to improve their own open spaces.”
Leicester’s 2002 best value review of Local Environmental Services clearly highlighted the serious decline of the city’s parks, citing problems of crime and disorder, cleanliness, antisocial behaviour and limited accessibility.
“Our spending on parks and green spaces over the past decade, year on year, has reduced by 53% in real terms,” said Richard Welburn, Leicester’s head of parks and green spaces and a driving force behind the pioneering decision to reinvest. “We knew that we had to do something to halt the spiralling decline.
“In 2003 we merged two departments into one to form the new Regeneration and Culture department which now includes all the local environmental services: parks and green spaces, cemeteries and crematoria, cleansing and waste management. We had to make difficult decisions about where to concentrate our resources to give the best value to the residents of Leicester. Our priority is to ensure that whatever we do, we do well, it’s a question of quality versus quantity and we had to take some difficult decisions.”
To ensure that the Council were providing the people of Leicester with the services that they wanted, the Department initiated a major strategic review of service provision known as ‘The Project’.
Extensive public consultation provided clear evidence that Parks and Green Spaces are a high priority to the people of Leicester.
Similar evidence arising from public consultation on the Council’s budget proposals provided credibility to push forward with the reinvestment in Parks and Green Spaces with effect from 1st April 2004.
Leicester has taken an innovative approach to sourcing the cash for the reinvestment. “There are park buildings in Leicester that are way beyond their sell-by date”, said Richard. “Some of the properties have declined so badly that we could never afford to restore them to their former glory. We would rather see them put to an appropriate use, rather than lying empty and derelict, so the idea is to sell or lease them for approved purposes. The income from the disposal or leasing of these assets will be ring fenced and put back into regenerating the parks. Yes, it’s an innovative approach, but it makes perfect sense – it’s not rocket science.”
As another outcome of the best value review, and hand in hand with the reinvestment initiative, Leicester’s parks service has undertaken a major organisational review. As a result, there are five area park management teams based on site. The service has been streamlined to form a comprehensive service responsible for all aspects of park management and maintenance. It is envisaged that over time, with these new resources in place, links will form between various operational services across the city such as schools, the health authority and the police, to create a far more inclusive and effective ‘whole city approach’.
So, what will the money pay for? A proportion of the money will be spent on making major improvements to key parks, including uplifting the quality of ornamental pruning, which may sound relatively unimportant but in fact overhanging vegetation can have serious repercussions for the health and safety of park users. Cleaning and general upkeep standards will be improved, including removing litter directly after events and replacing or renewing park furniture including signs and rubbish bins. It has been widely proved that unkempt open spaces attract antisocial behaviour, so again cleaning up an area has much wider benefits than simply making the place look nice.
The internal appearance of park buildings will be improved, and money will be invested in the city’s 175 play areas to raise the standards of these resources. The city’s cemeteries will also be spruced up, with money invested in memorial safety and grounds maintenance.
A significant proportion of investment will be in the area park management teams. These teams are key in delivering outreach work and getting out into the community to promote the value of parks and open spaces. Operational staff will become more public facing and will undergo training to equip them with customer service skills to enable them to act as ambassadors of the service.
Plans for the development of the area park management teams include visits to schools to promote the idea of a park acting as an outdoor classroom, supporting events in parks to attract a greater diversity of users, and capacity-building local friends groups. This work has already started, and as a result, two new fully constituted friends groups have been established. Positive publicity is key to maintaining public support and works well advanced require the development of a supporting publicity and media action plan.
“You know those old ‘Keep Off The Grass’ signs?” said Conservative cabinet member Cllr John Mugglestone. “We really want to get away from that – we want people to walk on the grass, play sport on the grass, and really get the most out of their parks and green spaces.”
It is also planned that the area park management teams will work together with the police and undergo training to become accredited under the police’s Community Accreditation Scheme. This would give them additional powers and enable them to police the parks far more effectively, addressing issues of crime and antisocial behaviour. Similarly, it is anticipated that Parks will benefit from the introduction of Community Support Officers working together with Parks staff to deter crime and restore public confidence in parks as being safe places to visit and use.
A small number of new staff will be employed, but the emphasis is on retaining and training existing staff, and giving them more opportunity to rise through the ranks. There is evidence that staff morale is already improving as a result of the reinvestment in Parks and that at long last staff now have the ‘tools to do the job’.
A proportion of money is being put aside as a contingency to deal with minor complaints from members of the public, so that problems such as a tree overhanging a window and blocking the view, which in the past had to be viewed as low priority, can now be addressed which, it is hoped, will increase public confidence and satisfaction with the service.
“We intend not just to make Leicester’s parks more attractive”, said Richard. “We also appreciate the wider impact of good quality open spaces on the wider agendas of health, education, crime and the economy. We are aware that we still have a long way to go, but we hope that this reinvestment will go some way to ensuring Leicester is a model of good practice for parks in the UK.”
Let’s hope that other local authorities around the UK will sit up and take note of Leicester’s pioneering reinvestment and consider how they can improve their parks and green spaces. After all, as Liberal Democrat Cllr Carlym Sandringham noted, “Our parks and trees are wonderful creations, and it is our responsibility to uphold their standards for the benefit of the whole community”.
Cuts in revenue expenditure. Loss of parks features and facilities. Reduction in the number of parks staff based on site. Heard this before? For the parks departments of many cash-strapped local authorities, this is an all too familiar mantra which has led to a serious decline in the condition of our parks and green spaces over the last two decades.
The 27,000 urban parks which cover 143,000 hectares of the UK are a huge resource which improve the urban environment, enhance the health and vitality of our cities and their residents and impact significantly on the economy by attracting businesses, encouraging sustainable communities and pushing up the prices of nearby properties.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Roger Blackmore, Leader of Leicester City Council, recognises these wide ranging benefits. Leicester City Council is set to address the trend of declining urban parks by reinvesting £2.7m in Leicester’s parks and green spaces over the next three years.
“We are committed to making significant environmental improvements in the city. Our vision is to see Leicester renowned for its good quality parks; we want people from the city and beyond to visit our parks and we want other local authorities to take note and be motivated to improve their own open spaces.”
Leicester’s 2002 best value review of Local Environmental Services clearly highlighted the serious decline of the city’s parks, citing problems of crime and disorder, cleanliness, antisocial behaviour and limited accessibility.
“Our spending on parks and green spaces over the past decade, year on year, has reduced by 53% in real terms,” said Richard Welburn, Leicester’s head of parks and green spaces and a driving force behind the pioneering decision to reinvest. “We knew that we had to do something to halt the spiralling decline.
“In 2003 we merged two departments into one to form the new Regeneration and Culture department which now includes all the local environmental services: parks and green spaces, cemeteries and crematoria, cleansing and waste management. We had to make difficult decisions about where to concentrate our resources to give the best value to the residents of Leicester. Our priority is to ensure that whatever we do, we do well, it’s a question of quality versus quantity and we had to take some difficult decisions.”
To ensure that the Council were providing the people of Leicester with the services that they wanted, the Department initiated a major strategic review of service provision known as ‘The Project’.
Extensive public consultation provided clear evidence that Parks and Green Spaces are a high priority to the people of Leicester.
Similar evidence arising from public consultation on the Council’s budget proposals provided credibility to push forward with the reinvestment in Parks and Green Spaces with effect from 1st April 2004.
Leicester has taken an innovative approach to sourcing the cash for the reinvestment. “There are park buildings in Leicester that are way beyond their sell-by date”, said Richard. “Some of the properties have declined so badly that we could never afford to restore them to their former glory. We would rather see them put to an appropriate use, rather than lying empty and derelict, so the idea is to sell or lease them for approved purposes. The income from the disposal or leasing of these assets will be ring fenced and put back into regenerating the parks. Yes, it’s an innovative approach, but it makes perfect sense – it’s not rocket science.”
As another outcome of the best value review, and hand in hand with the reinvestment initiative, Leicester’s parks service has undertaken a major organisational review. As a result, there are five area park management teams based on site. The service has been streamlined to form a comprehensive service responsible for all aspects of park management and maintenance. It is envisaged that over time, with these new resources in place, links will form between various operational services across the city such as schools, the health authority and the police, to create a far more inclusive and effective ‘whole city approach’.
So, what will the money pay for? A proportion of the money will be spent on making major improvements to key parks, including uplifting the quality of ornamental pruning, which may sound relatively unimportant but in fact overhanging vegetation can have serious repercussions for the health and safety of park users. Cleaning and general upkeep standards will be improved, including removing litter directly after events and replacing or renewing park furniture including signs and rubbish bins. It has been widely proved that unkempt open spaces attract antisocial behaviour, so again cleaning up an area has much wider benefits than simply making the place look nice.
The internal appearance of park buildings will be improved, and money will be invested in the city’s 175 play areas to raise the standards of these resources. The city’s cemeteries will also be spruced up, with money invested in memorial safety and grounds maintenance.
A significant proportion of investment will be in the area park management teams. These teams are key in delivering outreach work and getting out into the community to promote the value of parks and open spaces. Operational staff will become more public facing and will undergo training to equip them with customer service skills to enable them to act as ambassadors of the service.
Plans for the development of the area park management teams include visits to schools to promote the idea of a park acting as an outdoor classroom, supporting events in parks to attract a greater diversity of users, and capacity-building local friends groups. This work has already started, and as a result, two new fully constituted friends groups have been established. Positive publicity is key to maintaining public support and works well advanced require the development of a supporting publicity and media action plan.
“You know those old ‘Keep Off The Grass’ signs?” said Conservative cabinet member Cllr John Mugglestone. “We really want to get away from that – we want people to walk on the grass, play sport on the grass, and really get the most out of their parks and green spaces.”
It is also planned that the area park management teams will work together with the police and undergo training to become accredited under the police’s Community Accreditation Scheme. This would give them additional powers and enable them to police the parks far more effectively, addressing issues of crime and antisocial behaviour. Similarly, it is anticipated that Parks will benefit from the introduction of Community Support Officers working together with Parks staff to deter crime and restore public confidence in parks as being safe places to visit and use.
A small number of new staff will be employed, but the emphasis is on retaining and training existing staff, and giving them more opportunity to rise through the ranks. There is evidence that staff morale is already improving as a result of the reinvestment in Parks and that at long last staff now have the ‘tools to do the job’.
A proportion of money is being put aside as a contingency to deal with minor complaints from members of the public, so that problems such as a tree overhanging a window and blocking the view, which in the past had to be viewed as low priority, can now be addressed which, it is hoped, will increase public confidence and satisfaction with the service.
“We intend not just to make Leicester’s parks more attractive”, said Richard. “We also appreciate the wider impact of good quality open spaces on the wider agendas of health, education, crime and the economy. We are aware that we still have a long way to go, but we hope that this reinvestment will go some way to ensuring Leicester is a model of good practice for parks in the UK.”
Let’s hope that other local authorities around the UK will sit up and take note of Leicester’s pioneering reinvestment and consider how they can improve their parks and green spaces. After all, as Liberal Democrat Cllr Carlym Sandringham noted, “Our parks and trees are wonderful creations, and it is our responsibility to uphold their standards for the benefit of the whole community”.