‘Team effort’ needed to protect London park life

The chair of the London Assembly’s environment committee has called on mayor Sadiq Khan to bring local authorities, businesses and voluntary groups together to help protect the capital’s parks and green spaces.

Speaking to New Start, Leonie Cooper said a ‘team effort was needed’ and the London mayor should lead the process.

‘It’s the best way forward for London’s parks and open spaces, because we cannot lose them. They mean so much to us,’ Ms Cooper said at the launch of the committee’s new report on protecting parks and green spaces, last week.

The report calls on London mayor Sadiq Khan to appoint a green infrastructure commissioner or champion to help improve access to green spaces.

According to the report, half of all households in London live too far away – more than 400 metres – from the nearest green space, as recommended in the London Plan.

It also recommends the mayor set out a specific action plan to improve the amount of green space data available to help target investment that improves access to, and quality of, open spaces.

It suggests the mayor work with London boroughs to look at alternative delivery models to running parks and green spaces.

‘The government has reduced the amount of money to local authorities across the board,’ Ms Cooper told New Start.

‘Some local authorities have become quite inventive. For example, Greenwich set up Greenwich Leisure, which does runs services for a number of councils. Wandsworth set up Enable Leisure and Culture, which is an arms-length company and looks after all of its parks and open spaces.

‘And in some cases, local groups have been found to run specific spots, with a bit of support of council.’

Ms Cooper said there is a strong appetite for community involvement in parts of London.

‘In Merton and Wandsworth, almost every single open space has its own ‘Friends’ group,’ she added. ‘They are very committed and in some cases, have a deep emotional attachment to that specific space and what it offers to people in their lives.

‘Parks are good for our health and wellbeing,’ she said. ‘We found some clinical commissioning groups have been prescribing people to go out and do gardening, which just goes to show what the benefits are.’

The report also calls on the Greater London Authority to set up a website with details of all the green spaces in London, with information about how to get involved and possibly a crowdfunding option to raise money to support certain projects.

‘We think there is an appetite there for people who want to put money into their local areas,’ says Ms Cooper.

‘There’s a lot of money which has gone in from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore certain features in our Victorian parks, so why not crowdfunding as well? If we really value our spaces, then there should be that opportunity for people to put their own time, through friends groups, or funding.’

‘I think people really value their local environment and a lot of people want to get involved,’ she added.

The report was launched in the Red Cross Garden (pictured), which is managed by the Bankside Open Trust.

Trust director Paul Ely said it now looks after 14 small parks and gardens between London Bridge and Elephant and Castle.

‘I think local authorities, sadly, are having their funding cut to the point where they won’t be able to do a decent job looking after parks,’ said Mr Ely.

‘It will be incumbent on communities to step up. We at Bankside think of businesses as central to our community and, fortunately, we have some very responsive local businesses, who are very keen to work with us. I think that kind of approach is what is needed on a wider scale.

‘Parks and open spaces are one of the wonderful things in life – they are free, wonderfully democratic and for everyone.’