Yet another green space inquiry: asked and answered

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee Inquiry into Urban Green Spaces that closed 20th October probed into the environmental and wider challenges urban areas are facing and consider how green spaces in built-up areas address these challenges.

The acknowledgement of the importance of urban green spaces in government discussions is an encouraging step forward, and any engagement with government committees to address the environmental and wider challenges urban areas are facing is welcomed.

As in other past inquiries, Parks for London has readily shared evidence and insights gleaned from the twenty years working alongside London local authority park services, independent green space owners and other managers.

Yet, we can’t help but be reminded that we've been down this road multiple times in past decades without witnessing significant changes. In fact, repeated inquiries from different departments take resources away from providing services and have so far not provided lasting positive change or improvements.

This compelled us to reflect—and emphasise—on the only way urban green spaces (and all forms of green infrastructure) will be able to contribute to addressing the compound crises we face today: with sustained commitment and support.

Investing in the creation of new green spaces is great, but ultimately pointless if they are not maintained to a good quality for the long term rather than left to fall into disrepair, unable to serve the communities and habitats they were meant for.

In London, the downward trend in expenditure on parks and open spaces over more than 14 years (see graph) due to persistent budget cuts have resulted in lack of capacity to keep important park facilities such as toilets open (APSE, 2023), and staff to enforce byelaws and PSPOs, undertake outreach work, or develop a robust and active volunteering programme, among other vital functions.

We know that green and open spaces cannot look after themselves, and without sustained funding for maintenance and upkeep, a key ingredient of place-keeping, we would be undermining the ability of urban green spaces to support better health outcomes and address inequalities and disparities in access, and broader environmental justice concerns.

But this goes beyond just protecting the funding required for maintenance and upkeep. What we also need is clear accountability, ownership, and leadership for our urban green spaces, as well as joined up decision making and commitment to action at a national and local governmental level.

Yet currently at government level, the responsibility for urban green spaces falls between Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (DLUHC), with none of them taking full ownership and responsibility.

Local government plays the greatest role in green space provision through the planning process and delivery of green space management. But the latter is funded by Council Tax as a discretionary service, and becomes crowded out from being a priority to councils who are understandably hamstrung by their need to provide statutory services such as adult social care and housing, as well as balance their budgets.

In the absence of such strategic leadership, regional green space forums have stepped up to support those who own and manage green spaces. For example, when Parks for London led in interpreting multiple government guidance on COVID-19 on behalf of the whole of London and coordinating the sharing of latest updates to restrictions with its network, it helped save boroughs and other landowners time and resources from having to do the same on their own and provided a consistent approach across the region.

In support of good practice other manuals and guidance documents have been produced on topics such as integrated weed management and green space quality (a new edition of which coming out in December), and regular benchmarking of local authorities’ park services (through Good Parks for London), also help set quality standards, challenge the status quo, and encourage innovation and improvement.

Organisations and forums such as ours not only facilitate knowledge exchange, but also at times lead regional approaches to common issues, helping to overcome the fragmentation of green space management and reduce disparities in green space quality.

It was clear at one point that the government saw the importance of these forums, and even backed the charity, Greenspace, which was set up in 2005 to develop and support regional forums. However, the charity folded in 2015 after their funding later ceased.

It is vital that new knowledge hubs and professional networks like the Midlands Parks Forum and Parks for London receive support from the government so they can champion the green space sector at a regional level. This would be levelling up in action.

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