Recently I spent a wonderful week in Scotland staying at Laga farmhouse on the shores of Loch Sunart near the village of Glenborrodale close to Ardnamurchan.

Whilst there I had the opportunity to witness some breath-taking scenery, visiting the Isle of Mull and Sanna Beaches. 

Loch Sunart near Laga 

The following photographs sum up the beauty of our UK landscape, and reminded me of what a wonderful country we live in – reaffirming my belief we should take more care and be aware of what we have on our own doorstep. All too often we are too busy working and do not notice the beauty or importance of our own local landscapes.

Rocky outcrop Glenborrodale 

Continued investment

This was made apparent to me during a recent Green Flag judging visit to Haden Hill Park, Cradley Heath in Sandwell.  

Haden Hill Park is a historical Victorian landscaped park with a Victorian Mansion and Tudor Hall. The landscape offers stunning views of the surrounding area. The park is a popular venue for historical local events and environmental activities. It has children’s play areas, a bowling green, some ornamental lakes and formal garden areas.  

Haden Hill Park 
  

Haden Hill Park lake Cradley Heath  

This park, like many local authority parks and public open spaces, provides valuable opportunities for the local communities to enjoy - however, we can only continue to maintain these parks with the appropriate funding. Myself and other parks professionals would like to see parks become a statutory service, with funding being ring-fenced for the purpose of maintaining these important landscape assets.

For the past twenty-six years The National Lottery has invested in the UK’s public parks and urban green spaces. Over 900 urban parks have been regenerated with over £1billion invested by The National Lottery working in partnership with the many local authority owners. The physical evidence of this investment is everywhere to be seen, from replanted historic avenues to restored memorial fountains, from new play spaces to thriving park community cafes. But what impact has this investment had on the people that use parks, how have they benefited and were the National Lottery right to insist that all their funded park projects should also focus on supporting local communities to use and engage with their newly regenerated parks? 

Parks are more than just the green oases beautifying our towns and cities and providing a home for nature. Parks are one of our most used publicly-funded services. They form the heart of local community life, providing space for people to exercise to improve their physical health and mental wellbeing, to play, chat, eat, gather, protest and relax. Parks are essential pieces of community infrastructure. The huge importance of our urban parks has never been more appreciated and understood than it is today. 

Haden Hill Park's bowling green 

Covid-19 has meant that increasing numbers of people have discovered, used and relied upon their local parks and green spaces to help them to cope with lockdown restrictions, although this has also placed more pressure than ever on these vital green assets. 

The National Lottery has a produced a report containing several case studies, demonstrating how essential our parks are and that continued investment in both their ongoing maintenance and the resources needed to help people access these benefits is fundamental. Reducing park maintenance budgets to cover just grass cutting and litter collection, at the very time when use and demand is increasing, is a false economy. 

Also, there is plenty of information about the importance of parks that can be read in the recently published State of Public Parks.

Valuation

To conclude, whether it’s our local park, local sports facility, woodland, pond or canal there will always be a cost for their upkeep. We, along with the current curators and landowners, need to continue to find ways of securing the appropriate funding to ensure these facilities are there for our future generations. 

To help achieve this we need to find more ways of calculating the value of these public open spaces. I personally believe we need to have in place a value chart of what these facilities are worth in terms of their performance of converting CO 2 into oxygen (Carbon sequestration).

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing, securing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The idea is to stabilize carbon in solid and dissolved forms so that it doesn’t cause the atmosphere to warm. The process shows tremendous promise for reducing the human “carbon footprint.” There are two main types of carbon sequestration: biological and geological.

It is the Biological carbon sequestration that is the key for us. Biological carbon sequestration is the storage of carbon dioxide in vegetation such as grasslands or forests, as well as in soils and oceans.

Keeping natural grasslands and shrub lands intact and healthy will keep that carbon locked below ground, while the grasses and shrubs will continue pulling additional carbon from the atmosphere as they are grown. More information on the potential of carbon sinks can be read here.

I firmly believe our valuable town and city parks and open green spaces are providing an important role in the sequencing of CO2 gases. We just need to be able to measure the value of this process and ensure the maintenance and sustainability of these assets are secured for the future. 

Gullane Golf Club in Scotland say they have chosen Toro as it works towards accreditation for its Golf Environmental Organisation (GEO) certification.

Gullane’s course manager Stewart Duff (left) and Reesink Turfcare rep Neil Mackenzie 

As part of the club’s existing 10-year deal with Reesink Turfcare Scotland, they say have chosen five Workman GTX Lithium-Ion utility vehicles and two all-electric Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 riding greensmowers.

 
Stewart Duff, course manager since 2006, explained, “We consistently do our best to make the course a better place and are working towards GEO Certification. One of the environmental and social responsibility factors considered is the amount of petrol and diesel machines used and we’re trying to reduce that as much as possible. 

“We didn’t want to see the older buggies we had previously go, as they were excellent, but once we saw the new ones with the lithium batteries, we were sold,” Stewart continues. “They’re a big step up: they have more ground clearance and the new lithium-ion technology means the batteries don’t need topping off with distilled water once per week or to be replaced every couple of years like the conventional lead-acid ones, which is incredibly convenient. 

“The fact that they’re environmentally friendly plus the savings made on fuel and reduced servicing cost, as well as the no noise pollution, ticked all the boxes for us. They’ve quickly become a firm favourite.”

Stewart continued, “We ordered two eTriFlexes, one which we’ll get in August and another in January. Not only do they come with all the electric power benefits, but the fact that you can interchange different units quickly and easily with no spanners required, is another fantastic selling point.”

It has been announced that Tom Challinor will succeed Peter McDonald in the role of export manager for Agrovista, combining this with his current position within the amenity sector. 

Tom Challinor
 
Tom has been working for the company for over a decade and started as an amenity sales advisor. Even back in 2012, when the amenity export operation was of a humble size, Tom had his eye on international markets. 

 “We were receiving a few international calls and enquiries but due to the size of the team and other commitments, we were unable to prioritise this area of the business.

“We discussed this internally to look at ways to improve the handling of our international enquiries. I got the go ahead to take this on as a part of my role and this has developed over the years to become my full-time focus.” 

By nurturing relationships with key customers and seeking out new partners in new territories, Tom says he has worked hard to grow the amenity export side of the business. 

Last year Tom was instrumental in Agrovista becoming a corporate member of the Institute of Export & International Trade - a move which helped to boost the company’s export potential even further. He also recently achieved a diploma in International Trade - a four-year course which is provided by the Institute.

“I am, of course, over the moon to be presented with this new opportunity,” he said. “The processes are essentially the same but on the agricultural side there are more high-volume sales in comparison to the smaller, more frequent orders on the amenity side.

“Currently, the Discovery products are popular with big agrochemical companies in countries such as Turkey, Slovakia, Romania, and Slovenia, whereas the amenity products have more of a presence in central Europe and the Middle East. I believe this presents some opportunities to crossover and the growth of both could go hand-in-hand.”

Tom will divide his time between the company’s offices at Allscott and Rutherford House, and believes his colleagues, and Agrovista’s ever expanding networks will be integral.

“We have a fantastic technical department that is extremely helpful and always answer any technical questions I have. 

“Everything is in place to succeed - the support I have around me is superb.”

Following a pilot introduction, Bobcat has launched ‘Bobcat Certified’: the company’s new Certified Pre-Owned Program.

In a statement the company said this new scheme offers "customers a dependable route to procure a quality used machine, in a market where the supply of construction machines is being rapidly outpaced by demand."

The new scheme has been launched first in the UK and Ireland, France and Germany, with Bobcat Certified machines available from Bobcat Authorised Dealers in these countries. Further countries are being added in the course of 2022, starting with Italy, Spain and Sweden. 

The manufacturer says the new program ensures customers are offered premium class certified used machines backed by up-to-date condition, safety and operational checks carried out and certified by Bobcat dealers. 

The official statement went on to explain, "Bobcat Certified aims to deliver machines of the highest quality and reliability, providing customers with a ‘like new’ experience, while demonstrating Bobcat’s commitment to maintaining the highest residual value for the entire Bobcat range."

Machines have to meet a series of preset criteria to be eligible. These machines are then inspected and if approved as Certified, are then updated to adhere to Bobcat’s latest quality and safety standards. Each certified machine has proven reliability with Bobcat’s two-step inspection process, the latest service schedule using Bobcat genuine parts, oil checks, all necessary software upgrades and a 12-month/1000-hour manufacturer’s warranty as standard.

The company's financing solutions are also available on Certified machines.

To celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary, 55 employees from dealers Lister Wilder have pledged to cycle 55 miles by taking part in this year’s London to Brighton Cycle Ride to raise money for charity.

The team of cyclists will be raising money and awareness for blood cancer research charity, Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK (LMRUK) after an employee was diagnosed with blood cancer.

Group service director, Neil Davis put forward LMRUK as one of the charities to support throughout the year, following his diagnosis. “I’m extremely passionate about supporting on-going research into treatments for blood cancer," he said. "I personally take medication for my Leukaemia that was only developed 20 years ago, so it proves that we need to be constantly supporting this research to ensure that more effective treatments or even a possible cure can be found.

“The Lister Wilder cycling challenge is also a great opportunity to raise awareness. I’m looking forward to taking part with my colleagues and hope we can raise lots of funds for this fantastic charity."

LMRUK invest in specialist research into stem cell therapies as a more effective treatment for blood cancer to help protect the next generation. The charity actively raises awareness of the signs and symptoms of blood cancer and encourages expectant parents to bank their newborn baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells through its Model Cell Biobank service.

Dr Joanna Tilley, operations director at LMRUK said, “Our work investing in potentially life-saving research into more effective methods to treat blood cancer simply wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our volunteers and fundraisers. They make a real impact in the fight against blood cancer – whether it’s raising £50 or £500, it all makes a difference.

“We’re so grateful to the team at Lister Wilder who are busy training for this epic challenge to help raise vital funds and awareness of our charity and we can’t wait to cheer them on over the finishing line!”.

The Lister Wilder team have set themselves an ambitious fundraising target of £20,000, which it aims to hit before joining over 4,000 other keen cyclists taking on the 55-mile challenge in September this year. The fundraising has been kicked off generously by Kubota UK with a donation of £1500.

"Kubota are very pleased to support Lister Wilder in their 75th anniversary London to Brighton Bike Ride" , said David Hart, managing director of the Thame based machinery company. " What better way to add to the Lister Wilder anniversary activities than to also support this great charity, which in addition, also has significance to our team at Kubota (UK) Ltd. We wish them all the very best in this great team challenge."

Phill Hughes, sales director, has taken on the role of team captain as well as leading the fund raising. He said, “It’s fantastic that 55 team members have signed up to the challenge in order to raise money such a worthy charity. Every year we do some smaller events for charity, but we haven’t done something of this scale since 2017 when we raised nearly £20,000 for that year’s chosen charity, a figure that this year we are hoping to beat!

“We are asking the manufactures of the products we support as well as our suppliers if they are able to make a donation, as well as anyone else that would like to pledge some money for this great cause” All donations large and small will be received with thanks from both ourselves and everyone involved with LMRUK, who rely on these type of events”

"Donations can be made on our Just Giving Page 'Wild Wheels'"

The London to Brighton Cycle Ride challenge takes place on 11th September 2022 and starts at London’s Clapham Common and takes riders through passing towns and countryside before reaching the finishing line at Brighton’s Madeira Drive.

STIHL has extended its range of cordless brushcutters with the launch of the RGA 140, the first tool in the STIHL AP System dedicated for use with the STIHL RG cutting head, enabling maintenance workers, landscapers and groundskeepers to cut weeds and grass with ease in sensitive areas. 

Taking inspiration from the popular FSA 135 brushcutter and RG gearbox, the new RGA 140 features oscillating disc blades with low rotational energy, enabling low-spin mowing on hard surfaces and around fragile obstacles such as cars or greenhouses. Not only does this reduce the risk of flicking stones but, due to its low spin mowing and tailored RPM, the new brushcutter also reduces the safety distances to 3m from objects and 5m from people, making the tool ideal for use in built-up areas. 

The RGA 140 also boasts a 230mm cutting diameter and ergonomic controls. Featuring a quiet EC motor with three-speed settings and a clear LED display, users can continuously regulate the speed in order to work as efficiently as possible. In addition, the new brushcutter utilises a bike handle for well-balanced operation, offering comfortable use for professionals, particularly over long periods of time. 

Part of the AP System, the RGA 140 is compatible with STIHL's Smart Connector 2 A and features a mounting point on the tool housing, facilitating effective and timely maintenance, as well as increased productivity and reduced downtime. This model provides professionals with a long service life thanks to its sturdy motor housing, mesh air filter, and robust gearbox. Working time with the recommended AP 300 S battery is up to 100 minutes.

For more information on STIHL’s extensive range of brushcutters, please visit www.stihl.co.uk.

IRRIGATION IS VITAL

WEEDS FLOURISHING

TREE PLANTING INNOVATIONS

END OF SEASON RENOVATIONS TIME

PARK AND RIDE

IT'S NOT THE LENGTH THAT MATTERS . . .

NO EXCUSES FOR POOR FACILITY MANAGEMENT

SPRING INTO ACTION

SUN SHINES ON BTME

BRIGHT START

INDUSTRY INITIATIVE LAUNCHED

TESTING TIME

TIME TO PAY UP

DON'T PANIC!

ALL APSE-PECTS DISCUSSED

WINTER WARMING

THE BANE OF BUNKERS

POOR PERFORMANCE? BLAME THE PITCH!

PREPARING FOR 2022's GROWING SEASON

THREE AREAS OF CONTENTION

AREAS OF CONCERN

View all of 2021's blogs here

View all of 2020's blogs here

View all of 2019's blogs here

View all of 2018's blogs here

DEVELOPERS SHIRKING GREEN SPACE RESPONSIBILITIES
Lack of financial commitment

TIME TO COME TOGETHER
For the good of the industry

THE DEATH OF GRASS ROOTS CRICKET
Gathering apace?

ROUTES INTO THE INDUSTRY MUST BE ENSURED
Q&A with David Fisher, Lantra’s head of industry partnerships

STRONG VIEWS ON CRICKET PITCH PERFORMANCE MARKING
A bone of contention

A PREMIUM PRODUCT
Delivered at Naas Golf Club

THE GREEN REVOLUTION
And Esker Hills

MAKING A CHANGE
Laytown and Bettystown Golf Links

A DAY AT THE RACES
Naas Race Course

WORKING TOGETHER AS ONE VOICE
How the industry needs to proceed

OVER 175 YEARS OF EDUCATION
Wesley College

ELECTRIC EXCITEMENT
Dennis's Ian Howard talks electrification

THE HOME OF CORK GAA
Páirc Uí Chaoimh

LONG POLE BATTERY HEDGE TRIMMERS TESTED
STIHL HLA 66 and HLA 86

OVER 800 YEARS OF HISTORY
Johnstown Castle and Gardens

A CLUB GONE WILD
Kilkenny Golf Club

A GOLF COURSE IN THE GARDEN OF IRELAND
Woodenbridge GC

80 YEARS YOUNG
Charleville Golf Club

AN UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE
Bunclody Golf & Fishing Club

GETTING BACK TOGETHER
Albeit gradually . .

GO WEST
Inishturk GAA pitch – one of the most westerly sportspitches in Europe

WORKING ON A TIGHT BUDGET
Nenagh Golf Club

ON A MISSION
Wrekin Golf Club aiming to enrich wildlife and fauna

WILD AND WONDERFUL
Design By Nature

LEARNING HOW TO SURVIVE
Abbey Par 3

TACKLING OBESITY
Vital that schools can provide sport

A LIFETIME OF LEARNING
Vital for turf professionals

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
Tullamore Golf Club

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGES
At Trinity College Dublin

BLENDING THE OLD WITH THE NEW
Bray Golf Club

A WELL POLISHED COURSE!
Ierne Social And Sports Club

IDENTIFYING THE TRUE VALUES
Of grounds maintenance

THE INDUSTRY WILL CHANGE & ADAPT
But it will survive

WIRRAL GOLF COURSES SAVED
Renewed hope and optimism for the future

GREEN SPACE CONTRIBUTION TO WELLBEING IS UNDERVALUED
Parks invisible on national agenda

A SHINING LIGHT IN IRELAND'S SUNNY SOUTHEAST
Wexford Golf Club

GREEN SPACES DO NOT LOOK AFTER THEMSELVES!
Keith Kent says we must invest in people

WE SHOULD TELL THE WORLD ABOUT THE UK INDUSTRY
Right time for all sides to come together

SOIL LIFE IS PRECIOUS
Good-quality soil can help save the planet

MORE THAN JUST CUTTING GRASS
Encouraging the next generation

A BUZZ FROM DOING THE JOB
Wide experience of the turf grass industry

PAYING THEIR WAY
Low wages is the bane of the industry

AMENITY MANAGEMENT IMPACTS US ALL
Professor John Moverley

CARING FOR PARKS OF ALL TYPES
Mary Worrall

TOP FIVE FRUSTRATIONS FOR CRICKET GROUNDSMEN
What causes you the most frustration in your role?

PROFESSIONALS AT THE CUTTING EDGE
Vic Demain and Phil Sharples

BOWLS CLUBS IN PERIL
A sad decline

A VERY SPECIAL INDUSTRY
Loz looks back

SNEAK PEAK AT A ROBOTIC "GAME CHANGER"
Commercial model capable of covering 50,000 m2 teased

HALESOWEN PICK A BIG ROBOT UP FRONT
Invest in mowers

COMPRESSED AERATION
The new way

PARKS MATTER MORE THAN EVER
Recent sector developments

ON TEST
STIHL blowers

THREE CORE VALUES TO SHAPE OUR INDUSTRY
Real concerns for the future

ENGLAND'S GREEN SPACE GAP
A split along racial lines

ON TEST
EGO STX3800 strimmer with RTX2300 Rotocut head

A SECTOR FACING IMPORTANT TIMES
Review of the National Action Plan

PARKS MATTER
The role of public parks in the recovery: a discussion paper

A UNIQUE SPORTING VENUE
Wormsley private estate

A BTME OUTDOORS?
A good bet for the industry

PARKS NEED APPROPRIATE POLITICAL REPRESENTATION
Q&A with Philippa Reece, Parks and Foreshore Manager at Adur and Worthing Council

CRICKET LOAM
What does it mean?

A HERCULEAN EFFORT TO GET PARKS BACK TO NORMAL
Q&A with Chris Worman, Rugby Borough Council’s parks and ground manager

ON TEST
STIHL battery products

TURFGRASS STRESS MANAGEMENT
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and antioxidants during biotic and abiotic stress in turfgrass plants

AUTUMN DISEASE MANAGEMENT
The coming months are going to prove very difficult

THE ABUSE OF PARKS . .
Is the abuse of society

WHY PARKS MATTER?
A statement from the Parks Management Forum to the Prime Minister

THE 21st CENTURY PARKS MANAGER
Innovative, creative and entrepreneurial

EAT, SLEEP, CUT, REPEAT!
Cricket under covid

TIME FOR A SINGLE SHOW?
Debate brought back into focus

A CHALLENGING TWO MONTHS
Running golf design projects from home

PRESSURE SITUATION
Cementing the reputation

A CLUB TO BE PROUD OF
10 years at the helm of Olton GC

GAME CHANGERS IN TURFCARE
The day the Lord's outfield reconstruction proved its worth

THE ESSENCE OF ESSENTIAL
Finding a sensible way forward on defining "essential maintenance"

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS
2001

HOW TO LOOK AFTER A GOLF COURSE WITH NO GOLFERS
Fundamental to the survival of almost all courses, if not of the game itself

RAIN STOPPED PLAY WOULD BE WELCOME
. . along with ‘lunch is being taken early’

PHYSICAL CONTROL OF TURFGRASS PESTS
An urgent problem

A DIVERSE & ENTERTAINING WEEK
Successful BTME 2020

INTEGRATED PEST CONTROL
Opportunity to embrace new methods

ENVILLE ON THE UP
Major investments taking place

GREEN FLAG AWARDS 2019
A great success

U.S PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT SHOW EXCELS
Buoyant GIE+EXPO

LEGACY OF THE SOLHEIM CUP
At Gleneagles

A DAY OUT WITH THE LADIES
Behind the scenes at the Solheim Cup

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY'S EDIBLE GARDEN SUCCESS
2006 - present

HAIL THE GRASS MASTERS!
Boorish media comments about pitch quality are wide of the mark

CONTRACTOR SEES MULTI-DISCIPLINE SUCCESS
360 Ground Care serving professional facilities

BUSY TIMES
Judging the Green Flag Awards

TAKING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
What does it all mean in managing turf surfaces?

UNDER PRESSURE
Dry weather conditions continue to keep turf managers focused on moisture management

EDDIE SEAWARD
Death of Wimbledon’s influential grounds manager

MAJOR NEW IRRIGATION PROJECT
At Top 100 classic Berkhamsted Golf Club

NEW HORIZONS FOR THE HATTERS
Investment paying off at Kenilworth Road

ELIZABETHAN RESTORATION
At Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens

WHAT IS BIOPHILIA?
The vital impact of parks and green spaces on health and well-being

WORM CONTROL
Without carbendazim

THE TRUE COST OF PETROL
Battery-powered outdoor power tools are now turning the heads of professionals

SANDS OF TIME
Sand-based pitches are now the norm in professional sports

WHY DO WE DO THE RIGHT THING?
We must maintain industry standards

CHASING GRASS PERFECTION?
11 things you need to know . . .

MAINTAINING STANDARDS
Q&A with BASIS ceo, Stephen Jacobs

STRI RESEARCH DAY 2018
Hosted at research trial grounds in Bingley

THE MECHANIC
Leicester City FC invest in new role

LORD'S 'GRASS-GUVNOR' TO RETIRE
Mick Hunt bows out after 49 years

HOLLOW CORING & DEEP SCARIFICATION
Is it really necessary?

In 2022, APSE published The State of UK Parks 2021. In 2016 the previous ‘State of the UK Public Parks’ report was published by the Heritage Lottery Fund. That report identified that there was a need for central government, local authorities and a variety of partners to work together to address the problem of declining budgets, and the impact of the loss of finance on the quality, availability and future sustainability of UK’s parks. In this 2021 ‘State of the UK Public Parks’ report, published by APSE, they are disappointed to have to repeat many of the warnings made 5 years ago. Funding for our parks is once again at a tipping point with the loss of parks funding in further decline from £500 million lost between 2010 and 2016 to a further £190 million in 2021. A total of £690 million over the past decade.

Whilst their report reflects on initiatives to stimulate parks, they find that continued austerity measures have not been ameliorated by central government support, which has amounted to sporadic and small-scale grants to support initiatives such as ‘pocket parks’ and small renovation projects. In many cases, funding can only be accessed by costly and inefficient bidding systems, which take little account of local need. As a consequence, the financing of urban parks has continued to be woefully inadequate for local authorities, who manage around 85% of the UK’s urban parks.

As a parks addict, head of parks, author, historian, and Green Flag judge - as well as a park user - I visit many parks across the UK and am shocked to see the decline in our parks, which is becoming more and more apparent through declining infrastructure - footpaths, fences, street furniture, buildings, drinking fountains, play areas, and specifically to myself, the condition of bandstands. I call this ‘parkitecture’ - the architecture of our parks. They are the ingredients of what makes our parks, and it is where we see the greatest decline.

Reduction of mowing regimes, now in the name of enhancing biodiversity, rightly so, is not a symptom of decline. Potholes in footpaths, rusty unpainted railings, gaps in play areas where equipment is removed, but in many instances, where lottery money has been thrown at many historic parks, we see significant decline. Buildings becoming ‘scruffy’, no longer getting that paint job, the once restored bandstand, falling into disrepair and in worse cases, where there is years of neglect where there has been no funding applied for. I was in Southport recently, primarily to see the Champions League Final in Liverpool and to enjoy the parade, but whilst there, I take opportunities to visit parks and green spaces. Southport is known for its parks, its flower show and its stunning herbaceous border along Rotten Row. I checked out both bandstands in Victoria Park and on Lord Street. Both are rusting, declining and unloved pieces of historic ‘parkitecture’. I am not blaming the council - Sefton Council have major challenges with Bootle and Crosby within its boundaries along with affluent Formby and Southport. They are typical of many councils - cash strapped and struggling.

My own authority at Southend on Sea is in a similar situation - investment in parks over many years has been virtually non-existent. We are trying to reverse this with a new 10 year strategy. It is the ‘parkitecture’ that is the greatest symptom of decline in our parks. It is up to the sector to keep on making our case for funding, working with organisations such as Keep Britain Tidy and the Green Flag Award, Fields in Trust, Historic England, National Trust and the Heritage Fund. We have to keep making the case for parks.

When I worked in Watford, I would frequently talk of MY parks - they were MY parks, but was often reminded they weren’t mine. My riposte was whilst I am in charge of parks and their custodian - they are MY responsibility, therefore MY parks.

Parks Management Association