UK Public Parks Summit
The summit brought together key decision makers and international experts to explore innovative ways to support local authorities and Friends groups to generate income in a climate of diminishing budgets and growing concern around the long-term future of public parks.
Speakers included:
- The Rt Hon Don Foster, Parliamentary Undersecretary for the Dept of Communities and Local Government.
- Professor Ken Worpole, writer and social researcher, reflects on the changing face of parks since the launch of his seminal Park Life report in 1995. Read his article below.
- Jon Pape, Director of Parks and Nature, City of Copenhagen, spoke about how modernising parks can enhance quality of life and boost economic sustainability.
- Peter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence, US Trust for Public Land, who talked about innovative funding mechanisms that marry the power of private and public sectors.
As the event approached, BIG and HLF asked Twitter followers why parks matter to them, receiving some great responses with the #parksmatter hashtag. Read these messages, live-tweets from the day itself and listen to a parks podcast on the Storify website.
The story of a community park
Watch our film to see the difference the Parks for People programme is having upon the people who live and work in the local community surrounding Myatt’s Fields Park in Lambeth. This Grade II registered Victorian park has been beautifully restored after receiving a grant of £1.52million from HLF in 2006.