Public Places
“
All is not doom and gloom out there. A quick look at the current parks sector immediately uncovers some thought- provoking innovation and creative projects, and some remarkable ways of surviving
Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire; a private sector model for public parks
demonstrated to be innovative, profitable and more resilient to changes in the economic climate. One example, Ubico Ltd., is a local authority-owned company operating as a not-for-profit enterprise specialising in environmental services to the public sector, including parks maintenance and management. The founder shareholders of the company are Cheltenham Borough Council and Cotswold District Council, but the company has been formed in such a way as to allow other public sector organisations to become shareholders and receive services. Such companies have shown themselves
to be flexible and long-lasting, achieving savings of between 5-10%. They have the ability to trade and increase income, whilst retaining and increasing the added value of community engagement, including volunteers. Profits are re-invested into the local community. Other beacons of hope shining through the gloom include:
- The emergence of carefully planned mowing regimes, wildflower and contemporary urban planting substantially reducing maintenance costs, whilst improving biodiversity. Cutting grass is the largest green space maintenance cost, so savings could be substantial, but the success of this depends on changing public perception of green space ‘tidiness’
- The emergence of more highly-developed outcome/output-based maintenance specifications and partnership contracts. The development of private contractors as partners in integrated approaches to problem-solving and innovation in difficult times is heartening
- New funding streams such as Community Infrastructure Levy, Endowment funds from developers, corporate giving,
94 I PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015
Central Park provides a sense of place in New York and is key to the city folks’ well-being
crowdsourcing, Carrier Bag Levy receipts etc.
- The Policy Exchange proposed Parks Improvement Districts and Green Prescribing
- The emergence of Biophilic Cities, the Blue Green Cities/Blue Green Dream agenda
- The emergence and development of the Parks Alliance - get ready to join!
- The potential for ‘Super Parks Services’ where neighbouring local authorities and/or public landholders form a ‘super- client’ to reduce costs
The next decade could see a huge
paradigm shift in the management of local parks and open spaces; innovative strategies and models need to emerge. We will wait to
see if the momentum of forces to improve dominates the inertia which is making them invisible - will they be paradises lost or regained?
About the author: A former Head of Environmental Services, Bernard Sheridan is a consultant providing advice and management support to local authorities and organisations. With a background in parks, countryside, horticultural and sports turf management, he has particular expertise in developing green space policies and strategies, community involvement and delivering operational plans and services. Bernard is an RHS Master of Horticulture, NDT(IoG) and a member of Chartered Institute of Horticulture.
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