12th November New research shows that playgrounds continue to close at an alarming rate despite the government’s claims that they are tackling childhood obesity and mental health problems. In April 2017, the Association of Play Industries Nowhere to Play report first uncovered the state of playground decline in England, revealing the closure of hundreds of...
Read more »November 6 2018 The question of whether a local authority landowner was negligent in setting the frequency of its inspection of trees was considered by the Court of Appeal in the recent judgment in Witley Parish Council v Cavanagh (2018), the tree in question having blown down in a storm, crushing a bus driven by the...
Read more »22 October 2018, by Sarah Cosgrove The Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Trust have launched a £10 million fund aimed at helping council parks services become self-sufficient. The UK-wide ‘Future Parks Accelerator’ fund has opened for expressions of interest. Up to eight local authorities will win a slice of £5m in HLF money and...
Read more »4th September 2018 Whether you prefer dominoes or hide and seek, the right to play is a fundamental part of our rights as a child. So why is it that it’s only protected by law in Wales? Annissa Warsame argues that England, Scotland and Northern Ireland should follow suit. The right to play, or, to...
Read more »3 July 2018, by Sarah Cosgrove New funding models and community co-management are the main themes of the eight parks projects which have secured Rethinking Parks grants. The Nesta grants – ranging from £145,000- £200,000 – go to two parks foundation projects, a charitable fundraising project, two community co-management projects, a health project, a renewable...
Read more »5 July 2018, by Matthew Appleby ‘Our public parks are under unprecedented pressure, 50 years after a law which was intended to protect and improve the countryside close to people’s homes.’ Open Spaces Society’s vice-president, Paul Clayden, speaking at the society’s annual general meeting in London, said: “‘This week we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Countryside...
Read more »Public Sector Software Ltd’s application to G-Cloud 10 was successful. We made a submission to the Cloud software category for both PSSLive and PSSUltimate. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) acts on behalf of the Crown to drive savings for the taxpayer and improve the quality of commercial and procurement activity. The UK Government G–Cloud is an initiative targeted...
Read more »Moments with Trees is a two-year Heritage Lottery Funded project initiated by Nene Park Trust with four aims in mind: To enhance public knowledge and understanding of Nene Park’s trees, to encourage children’s connection with them, to conserve the natural heritage and tree stock, and to reveal their past, celebrate their present and shape their future....
Read more »The Association of Play Industries is attending the launch of the ‘Mental Health in Childhood’ report at the APPG on a Fit & Healthy Childhood at Westminster this evening. The All-Party Group was formed to find ways to improve children’s health and wellbeing and is calling for a positive approach to the Government’s Child Mental...
Read more »Thursday 21st June 2018 Parks and green spaces are falling into ‘disrepair’ because of budget cuts, freedom of information requests reveal. According to FOI responses from 172 councils responsible for parks in Britain, more than £15m has been cut from parks and green spaces budgets between 2016/17 and 2018/19. Published by the trade union Unison,...
Read more »Thursday 21st June 2018 A coalition of countryside groups and environmentalists are calling on the government to protect the UK’s parks and green spaces which are at “crisis point” following years of swingeing budget cuts. The group has today put forward a “Charter for Parks” which calls on ministers in England, Wales and Scotland to...
Read more »Monday 18th June 2018 Scotland’s first ever dementia-friendly park has been launched in Stirling. Kings Park, one of the city’s most popular recreational areas, has been transformed to make it more accessible and allow people with dementia to enjoy and feel safe in outdoor spaces. New measures include a handrail, improved toilet signs and benches....
Read more »Monday 18th June 2018- by Sarah Cosgrove Green-space professionals have called for the Scottish Parliament to take a deeper, broader and longer look at the issue of funding and access to quality green spaces at a one-off evidence session held at Holyrood last month (May). Green-space groups submitted written evidence and research on the benefits of...
Read more »Thursday 12th April 2018 Councils across Wales have received £1.7m from the Welsh Government to expand and improve play opportunities for children and young people, the Minister for Children, Huw Irranca-Davies has announced. Wales was the first country in the world to legislate for play. Under The Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010, local authorities...
Read more »Tuesday 3rd April 2018 Plymouth’s Health and Wellbeing Board is to examine the importance of parks and open spaces. An influential health body is to examine the importance of parks and open spaces to the well being of people who live in Plymouth. The initiative comes after it was revealed that 169 of the city’s green...
Read more »Thursday 22nd March 2018 Chris Leslie said nationally playgrounds were not being replaced at the same rate at which they were disappearing. The “great British tradition” of children’s playgrounds are “declining at quite an alarming rate”, a Labour MP has warned. Chris Leslie said that nationally playgrounds were not being replaced at the same rate...
Read more »Tuesday 20th March 2018 COUNCIL bosses are to join calls for £750,000 of investment to be made into a park. Hyndburn Council cabinet is set to decide to support a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the refurbishment and improvement of Memorial Park in Great Harwood. The cabinet is also looking to agree in...
Read more »Tuesday 20th March 2018 Works to improve leisure facilities in Preston’s parks could be complete in time for the summer. Council bosses rubber stamped proposals to spend £50k at 16 parks earlier last week. Coun Peter Kelly, cabinet member for culture and leisure services, said: “In some cases it has been 10 to 15 years...
Read more »Friday 16th March 2018 Fields in Trust Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths, comments on a trio of recently published reports into parks and green spaces and looks ahead to Fields in Trust’s own forthcoming research report. Today a new report from the Association of Public Service Excellence details trends in the management and maintenance of the UK’s parks...
Read more »Monday 12th March 2018 The people of Reading are set to enjoy some substantial improvements to the town’s parks. That’s because Reading Borough Council is exploring plans to pump a total of £786,700 into improving its green spaces. The lion’s share of the funding would go to improving playground equipment, new landscaping and the planting of trees. The majority...
Read more »Monday 12th March 2018 A whole host of play parks across the city are set to receive a makeover by spring 2020, Plymouth City Council has revealed. A whopping 38 play parks will be re-vamped, with an additional six brand new parks being created close to new housing. The plans follow on from the first...
Read more »Monday 5th March 2018 CONSTRUCTION at a new playpark in Lordswood, Southampton, is nearly completed. Workers hope to finish the Puffin Close park by Tuesday before an opening takes place next month. In December, Friends of Lordswood Park released their vision of what the park would look like after reaching its fundraising target to enhance the area....
Read more »Thursday 1st March 2018 London Boroughs are working hard to protect parks and green spaces ‘despite funding cuts’, research says. The charity Parks for London has published a report evaluating how well local authorities in the city are performing when it comes to protecting parks. The criteria included public satisfaction with parks, collaboration with other boroughs, and...
Read more »Wednesday 28th February 2018 GREEN party councillors are calling for hundreds of thousands of pounds to be poured into York’s parks. The party has produced its alternative budget for City of York Council, including £239,000 extra a year for gardeners, park rangers and the night time locking of the city’s five parks. The party is also...
Read more »Wednesday 28th February 2018 A town council and a consortium of volunteers in Mid Wales are celebrating after being given a £1.1 million grant to regenerate 110 acres of land. Newtown Town Council and the Going Green for a Living Land Trust have been working tirelessly for many years to acquire various different parcels of...
Read more »Friday 16th February 2018 A road in Bexley is going to be closed to traffic so children can play out in the street. Blendon Drive will close on Saturday, March 10, so children can play and neighbours can socialise – without any traffic spoiling the party. Working with Bexley Council, the neighbours have organised the event which...
Read more »Monday 22nd January 2018 Two new obstacle courses have been unveiled to put dogs through their paces. Basildon Council has invested more than £24,000 into the agility courses at Westlake Park, in Bowers Gifford, and South Wash Road, Noak Bridge, following feedback from residents. Alan Ball, Chairman of Basildon Council’s Regeneration and Environment committee, said: “We...
Read more »Monday 22nd January 2018 CHILDREN could be locked out of almost 200 parks if Highland Council’s latest budget cuts go ahead. The local authority has suggested closing two thirds of play facilities in the region, leaving fewer than 100 in an area the size of Belgium. Senior councillors have said they can no longer afford...
Read more »Thursday 18th January 2018 This type of equipment has become increasingly popular over the last few years. The need for sturdy, robust and reliable equipment is a priority for purchasers as budgets for maintenance decrease. Consistency in such equipment and to allow users to be assured of the safety and reliability, EN16630:2015 was published and...
Read more »Monday 2nd January 2018 A SKATING enthusiast is hoping to get plans to build a skate park in Leigh back on track. Erik Richardson, of Etherstone Street, Leigh, is urging people to support a project to develop a purpose-built facility in the town after playing a key role in the opening of two skate parks...
Read more »
