managing green spaces

8/8/2019 Managing Green Spaces

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Managing green spaces

Seven ingredients or success


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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

JaneSebire


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Introduction

Englands parks and green spaces are beingmanaged in a context which is changing

ast and undamentally. Councils are beinggiven greater autonomy to determine theservices they provide to their communities,but this autonomy comes with signifcantlyreduced resources.

So the challenge is to keep going with less money,while saeguarding the service and quality expectedby local people.

This brieng brings together evidence to assistgreen space managers, corporate decision-makers

and advisors in deciding on the uture o services.Councils are testing dierent approaches tomanaging and nancing public spaces.1 In manycases service delivery will be radically restructuredas a result.

We set out seven ingredients or success,describing the issues that matter but also,importantly, some that distract. Even when theseingredients eel amiliar, the new challenge isusing them to manage change. The brieng is

relevant to all organisations managing greenspaces, including housing associations and councils.

The ingredients arise rom research or CABEbetween 2009 and 2010 by the New LocalGovernment Network (NLGN). It examined how thestructure and organisation o parks and green spaceservices aect their perormance.

The brieng also sets out the resources thatgreen space managers can draw on to describethe critical services that green space provides tolocal communities.

More inormation on the study is available at:www.cabe.org.uk/publications/managing-green-spaces

The ull report is available on request rom [email protected]

1 Community-led spaces: A guide or local authorities

and community groups CABE Space, 2010.

The challenge is to keepgoing with less money,while saeguardingthe service and qualityexpected by localpeople

NickTurnerPhotography

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Jo

eDMiles

Why a green spaceservice matters

Parks and open spaces undamentally aect ourwellbeing. They are an important determinant o

health and quality o li e. They infuence how happywe are with where we live. They are vital pieceso local inrastructure. The quality o parks andopen space services has a proven eect on publicperceptions o local authority perormance.

Green space also signicantly aects the economicperormance o a place. However, an NLGN surveyo local authority nance directors in 2009 oundthat when resources become scarce, environmentaland culture services are the most exposed andvulnerable to orced cuts.2

This study looked at how parks and green spaceservice structures can change to provide leaner,locally ocused services which are t or purpose.They certainly can adapt. But just cutting themanagement and maintenance o green spaces isnearly always ound to be a alse economy, becauseit generates costs in other areas. For instance, itincreases the need to police anti-social behaviourin a derelict space.3

People value their local green spaces

There is a strong link between peoplessatisaction with their local parks and greenspaces and their satisaction with theirneighbourhood. I people are satised with localparks they tend to be satised with their council.

Almost nine out o 10 people use their local parksand green spaces and 48 per cent o people usethese spaces at least once a week.

81 per cent o respondents have used their localpark or open space in the last six months. Thiscompares with 32 per cent who had used concerthalls, and 26 per cent who had visited galleries.

In 2007, 91 per cent o people thought it wasvery/airly important to have green spaces nearto where they live, and by 2009 this had risen to95 per cent.

In the largest survey o its kind conducted withthose living in deprived communities, residentssee the provision o green space as essentialto their quality o lie alongside housing, health,education and policing.

The 2003/04 Survey o English Housing identiesthe three main things that would improve peoples

local area. Issues relating to the quality o publicspace are cited as many times as actors relatingto employment, health and housing.

91 per cent o the public believe that public parksand open spaces improve peoples quality olie, and 74 per cent believe that parks and openspaces are important to peoples health andmental and physical wellbeing.4

For more inormation on why green spacesmatter go to:www.cabe.org.uk/urban-green-nation/acts

2 Scanning fnancial horizons: Modelling the local

consequences o fscal consolidation NLGN, 2010.

3 Decent parks, decent behaviour? The link between

the quality o parks and user behaviourCABE Space, 2005.

4 All ndings in Urban green nation: building the evidence base CABE, 2010.

Linking up: a sensory garden in

the heart o Walthamstow helps

to connect local public transport

stations with the retail centre

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This research ocuses on the largest landlordso the countrys urban green space stock: local

authorities and housing associations.

For this study a green space service is denedas the structure(s) within an organisation withresponsibility or the delivery and managemento parks and green spaces. There is no oneset structure. It could be a dedicated parksdepartment, or located within a wider departmentwith responsibility or other services such as streetcleansing or waste management.

The study examined how the organisation and

structuring o parks and green space servicesaects their perormance. Using eight case studyexamples and structured interviews with keypersonnel, it explored the positioning o parksand green spaces in relation to other services anddepartments within an organisation.

The research included housing associations toillustrate dierent ways o working with communitiesto deliver good-quality green space.

Four actors, adapted rom recent workby LG Improvement and Development,were analysed:

awareness and understanding o the contextwithin which the service operates, includingrelating to corporate priorities

level o political and managerial leadership andthe skills to advocate or, and drive improvementin, the service

existence o reliable evidence to use or advocacy,underpinned by an ability to measure a servicescontribution on an ongoing basis

ability to work in partnership to achieveshared outcomes.5

CASPhotography

CASPhotography

About the study

5 www.idea.gov.uk

Community space: Albion Community

Garden in Salord (both pictures) was

rejuvenated ater residents o all ages

came together to transorm a derelict

plot o land

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Ingredientsor success

The seven key indings rom

the study are summarised on the

ollowing pages. All quotes are drawnrom research interviews with local

authorities and housing associations.

Full inormation on the study, the

case studies, the interviews and the

concepts o structure, positioning

and perormance are available at:

www.cabe.org.uk/publications/

managing-green-spaces

Its a skill to manage itwithout money. Its aboutpersuasion. You need toget your ideas across to themanager, elected membersand chie executive. Thats anart in itsel, and I leave thatto the head o service. Hesa master at it. Without that,wed have been in trouble along time ago

Green space ocer,environment directorate

High-perorming services depend on

strong and motivational leadership

The quality o political and managerial leadership,and the access a green space team has to this,was identied as the most important driver operormance. Strong leadership provides advocacy,vision and ambition or the service at a cabinet ormanagerial level; secures and protects unding;builds partnerships; drives innovation; and providesmotivation. Investment in skills at all levels is neededto achieve good leadership. Successul headso service are communicators, motivators,

advocates and brokers.

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MischaHaller

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Uniied management and

maintenance unctions matters

Those green space services which separatedtheir day-to-day maintenance unctions rom theoverall management ound it harder to deliver goodquality and ecient services than those that uniedthem. Separation can lead to competing priorities,communication ailure and lack o amiliarity withday-to-day operations, and can reinorce silomentality. When services are integrated, prioritiesare more likely to be shared and there is betteradvocacy o the interests o the service.

2

NaturalEngland/Do

orstepGreens

The key change has beenthe integrated service.Putting a parks anda horticulture servicetogether means youve notgot two separate arms,youve not got developmentinvesting in sites andmaintenance doingsomething else

Parks development manager,leisure and culture services

Planning ahead: preliminary work at

the Doorstep Green or Dene Valley

Community Park, County Durham

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The location o a service, whether in

a dedicated parks department or a

larger department, is not the mostimportant driver o perormance

The division or directorate within which greenspace services are placed is not o majorimportance, with one exception. Green spaceservices are at risk o being neglected when part oa larger waste department. Priorities and resourcescan be diverted because waste is a signicantstatutory responsibility or the local authority.

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Given the complex range oagendas that parks services

can inluence, there wasnever one clear place in thecouncil to sit to make anydierence in terms o policyor budget or service delivery.For example, we can havean impact on environmentalissues while in a leisureservice and vice versaitdoesnt matter where you putus as long as you uniy thetwo unctions

Head o green space service,leisure and culture services

JaneSebire

Digging in: residents get involved in

gardening and vegetable planting at

Islingtons Gambier House

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The commissioning model

takes us into a placewhere we can actuallydeliver on our ambitions.For a number o years ourstrategic objectives orgreen space have requiredthe orchestration o activityacross a wide range o

dierent places. I you aresitting in a traditional parksdepartment, you have alimited capacity to mobilise

Commissioner o green space services,strategic commissioning authority

An active understanding o the policy

and practice context is needed to stay

responsive and relevant

Keeping alert to the internal and external contextis critical. The way local services are delivered ischanging rapidly. The government is rmly advocatingthat local authorities share services to delivereciencies and to empower communities to leadon service delivery. The green space sector is arelevant sector that will deliver on these agendas.An understanding o the current context, and how itrelates to their role, enables green space managers

to respond ast and be relevant.

4

TheCorporationof

London

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When you talk to local usersand riends groups, there canbe rustration. We manage

the parks, someone else ismaintaining the horticulturaleatures in the park, andanother organisation isresponsible or the cleansing.So all o a sudden when theresan issue, theyve got threepeople to talk to

Head o service,adult and communities directorate

Transparent, legible structures are moreeective or those using and delivering

the service

Structures that place, in an organisational sense, greenspace mangers close to senior management encouragebetter, and a more requent, communication and co-ordination. In deeper, more hierarchical structures, thegreen space service may end up buried. A transparentservice structure, where it is clear who is responsible,is also benecial or users o the service and avoidsduplication. However, structure does not dictateperormance. Motivated individuals with the desire tomake it work can override structural diculties.

6

It is worrying that thecabinet member is unableto get a good understandingo how parks are perorming

rom our set o iguresbecause they dont tell theull story. The challenge isto create a set o indicatorsthat can be compared toother local authority parksservices or indeed otherinternal services

Head o green space service,leisure and culture services

Provide evidence to gain the support

o leaders and partners

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The absence o a robust evidence base demonstratingthe value o high-quality services is a deal-breaker.Tracking change and putting together benchmarkeddata is invaluable or both strategic planning andday-to-day management. The benets ar outweighthe eort o data collection. Local authorities nowhave the ability to set their own indicators operormance, dened by what is important locally.As local communities value their local green space,

this provides a chance to devise appropriateindicators that clearly measure the contribution ogreen spaces over time.

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Eective and targeted partnershipsunderpin successul services

Successul partnershipworking is aboutrelationships. Its about

identiying the agenda oa partner organisation andhow you can help them.The challenge is to ind thecommon themes so that youcan jointly deliver projectswhich will help both o youachieve your common aims

Head o green space service,green space directorate

NickTurnerPhotograph

y

MarkEllisandAshleyBingham,IC

DPhotography

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Local initiative: Doorstep

Green project at Carter Park,

Middlesbrough

Consulting communities:

collecting local views in

Queenborough, Isle oSheppey

Green space services are non-statutory and can meetthe objectives o other public service areas so activepartnership working is undamental to success. Formingeective personal relationships, and proving the valueo green space services to the partnership, is especiallyimportant. It is not just about internal partnerships. Thisis about ensuring that the green space services deliveryobjectives are met with partners rom national and localagencies, and riends groups. Delivery in partnershipwith communities is critical.

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Moving orward

What does this study tell us about high-quality green space services? First, that the

structure o the service, or where it is locatedin the organisation, is not o great signifcance.What does matter very much is uniying themanagement o the green space service andday-to-day maintenance. And it is essential toinvest ully in skills at all levels.

Parks and green space services serve too manyagendas to operate successully in isolation. Thesheer numbers o riends o parks groups 4,000at the last count demonstrate the powerul senseo ownership that people have over their local

green space.6 So or any changes to succeed, thecommunity needs to be closely involved. Workingin partnership pays o across the board: it can bewith transportation and public health services, orinstance in providing new opportunities or play andexercise. It can be with planning and developmentcontrol, to mitigate and adapt to climate change.It can be with external organisations such ashousing associations, to deliver tailored servicesto improve estates.

And nally, this study shows why strong andmotivational leadership is critically important.Investment in the environment pays or itsel manytimes over. When budgets are being scrutinised,and green spaces are being raked over in the searchor savings, then use that spotlight to perorm. It is achance to promote the extraordinary value or moneyrom green space, and the multitude o benets itprovides. It is a chance to persuade people to buyinto a vision or the better stewardship o the livinglandscape o our towns and cities.

NaturalE

ngland/DoorstepGreens

People irst: improvement

works at Bristols Cliton

Place Community Garden

6 Community networking project fnal reportGreenSpace, 2003.

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JaneSebire

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Other resources

Calculating the real value o parks and green spacesMaking the invisible visible sets out an alternativeway to calculate the value o green spaces and to usethis inormation to plan over dierent times. Most localauthorities record their parks and green space assetsas just 1. The report oers a new ramework whichquanties their replacement cost and measures localdemand by looking at park use.12

Benchmarking your service against others

Urban parks: Do you know what youre getting foryour money?explores the benets o collecting dataand sharing it to assess the existing quality o parksand green spaces, and set clear and measurableaspirations or uture quality.13

Sel-assessed improvementTowards an excellent service (TAES) developed tohelp improve perormance in the green space sector,TAES enables green space managers to evaluate theirservice and identiy areas or improvement and

track progress in achieving this.14

Improving open spaces in social housing areasDecent homes need decent spaces sets out 10priorities or change and the Neighbourhoods Greenpartnership is working with social housing providers totake these actions orward.15

7 www.cabe.org.uk/publications/is-the-grass-greener

8 www.cabe.org.uk/public-space/parks/paying-or-parks

9 www.cabe.org.uk/public-space/spaceshaper

10 www.cabe.org.uk/publications/community-led-spaces

11 www.cabe.org.uk/sustainable-places/advice/open-space-strategies

Green Flag nding rom CABEs bi-annual survey on local authority progress

in completing open space strategies.

12 www.cabe.org.uk/publications/making-the-invisible-visible

13 www.cabe.org.uk/publications/urban-parks

14 www.cabe.org.uk/public-space/parks/taes

15 www.cabe.org.uk/publications/decent-homes-need-decent-spaces

CABE has a range o resources to help greenspace managers. More inormation is available at:

www.cabe.org.uk/uture-o-parks

Innovations in urban green space managementIs the grass greenerdemonstrates the value otaking an alternative approach to the managemento green spaces. It draws on innovative examplesrom around the world.7

Alternative models or unding public green spacePaying for parks sets out alternative unding modelsto support green space managers in thinking morecreatively and innovatively about ways to und their

spaces. It provides practical examples o otherorganisations that have levered in additional undingor their spaces by working across the private, public,community and voluntary sectors.8

Capturing the views o people using spacesSpaceshaperis a practical toolkit which brings peopletogether to discuss a space, identiy its strengthsand weaknesses and measure how well it meetseveryones needs. Spaceshaper 9-14 can be used inschools and youth clubs so that the views o young

people are not overlooked.9

Transer o public assets to the communityCommunity-led spaces, published jointly with theAsset Transer Unit, is a guide or local authorities andcommunity groups which explores the asset transerapproach in relation to public open spaces. It usesexamples rom a charitable trust set up to manage landwith a 99-year lease to community groups that initiatetemporary uses o land awaiting development.10

Producing and implementing an open space strategyOpen space strategies best practice guidance,published jointly with the Mayor o London, oerspractical advice on how to prepare, deliver, monitorand review a green or open space strategy.On average, local authorities that have had anopen space strategy in place or three years havegained our times more Green Flag awards thanthose authorities without strategies.11

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JaneSebire

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The brieing is drawn rom researchexamining how the structure andorganisation o parks and green spaceservices aect their perormance.It sets out recommendations or localauthorities and housing associationsto ensure the best possible services inrapidly changing circumstances. It willbe o interest to green space managersand decision-makers determining theuture management o their parks andgreen spaces.

CABE1 Kemble StreetLondon WC2B 4ANT 020 7070 6700F 020 7070 6777E [email protected]

Published in 2010 by the

Commission or Architecture and

the Built Environment

Graphic design: Draught

Associates

Printed by Blackmore Ltd

Cover images: Natural England/

Doorstep Greens Nick Turner

Photography and Jane Sebire

All rights reserved. No part o this

publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, copied

or transmitted without the priorwritten consent o the publisher

except that the material may be

photocopied or non-commercial

purposes without permission rom

the publisher.

CABE is the governments advisor

on architecture, urban design

and public space. As a public

body, we encourage policymakers

to create places that work or

people. We help local planners

apply national design policy and

advise developers and architects,

persuading them to put peoples

needs rst. We show public sector

clients how to commission projects

that meet the needs o their users.

And we seek to inspire the public to

demand more rom their buildings

and spaces. Advising, infuencing

and inspiring, we work to create

well-designed, welcoming places.

managing green spaces

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