4 things you need to know about the decline of England’s Parks
As a local organisation prepares to fight a landmark case defending Finsbury Park against local authorities on CrowdJustice, here’s what you need to know about the situation and history of the UK’s public parks:
1. Most major London parks were originally privately owned hunting grounds, donated to the public in the 18th century. The Victorian Era’s Romantic movement and cultural obsession with nature — see the likes of Keats, Wordsworth, Constable or William Blake — lead them to realise the long term public health and welfare benefits of universal access to green spaces. As a result an estimated 38.4% of the UK’s capital is public green space, putting it at 6th place in the world.
2. In the present day parks are owned and run by local authorities rather than the government, on the one hand making the management more accessible to the public. However, Rowan Moore reports that local authorities saw austerity cuts of half or more under the coalition government in 2015, which have not been relieved by Theresa May. Kim Thomas in the Guardian and Tony Leach, CE of Parks for London, explain that because parks are not a statutory requirement, unlike housing or schools, for example, they have suffered the worst from these cuts. Moore elaborates, ‘They cost little in relation to their benefits. They are also assets for the long term, representing years and decades of investment that will be lost if they are degraded or, as is happening in some cases, sold off or built over.’ Indeed, the selling off of public spaces has sparked much public outrage, like a petition of almost 5,000 signatures in 2015, but with no outcome. Read more about park privatisation here and here.
3. Whilst you could argue that civic pride and cost savings were a big part of the Victorians’ claims of parks’ health and social benefits, these benefits continue to be proven today. Urban green spaces improve a city’s air quality, help commuters dodge pollution, and promote exercise, reducing obesity. Multiple greenification ambassadors have also pointed out park’s positive influence on mental health, with the NHS also recently investing in this hypothesis. Further, while the Victorians didn’t care for promoting diverse community or equality between classes, public parks did exactly this, becoming an unprecedented mixing ground for upper and lower classes. Parks continue to promote and enable community today.
4. Finsbury Park in North London is one of the great parks of London, and was one of the first to be laid out in the Victorian era. It is owned and run by Haringey Council, and has hosted events from Jimi Hendrix to Bob Dylan to Oasis. Locals argue, however, that rather than bringing music into the community the council are profiteering the space for pecuniary gain, and denying them access to it due to events for a significant part of the summer. Whilst this may seem a less permanent problem than parks being sold off, it’s symptomatic of a wider fashion of neglect and decline, and The Friends of Finsbury Park say a win for their case, which they are crowdfunding at CrowdJustice, would set a new standard for councils’ accountability for their parks.
