Leeds: Investment in parks 

Between 2004 and 2006 the Parks and Countryside Service sent out 90,000 questionnaires to residents in Leeds.  The results of this survey indicated that the City's 73 parks attracted 60 million visits each year, with 90 per cent of Leeds residents being regular park users.  Three years earlier, a Best Value review of the Parks and Countryside Service had compared Leeds and other cities with regard to the direct cost of maintenance of community parks. The average spend per hectare for Leeds was £1,874 compared to £6,500 for other cities. 

In order to secure further funding, it was important to prove the case that parks make a genuine contribution to communities and their regeneration. Research from industry bodies, the results from the survey of residents, and Green Flag criteria assessments helped to support this argument.  In 2005 the service was awarded £500,000 for improvements to 12 community parks, with a further £3.2 million awarded under Parks Renaissance for improvements to 21 community parks the following year.

A number of projects are underway in Leeds with the aim of attracting more people to a career relating to parks and green space.  The Kinaesthetic Learning Project is a two-year hands-on training programme for 14–16 year olds.  By the end of the second year of the project more than 30 young people from the area’s high schools will be gaining experience in the council’s parks and estates one day a week.

For more information on the benefits of investing in city parks, read the full case study here.

Bristol: Kitchen Waste Recycling

Bristol City Council have introduced recycling for leftover food. It is understood to be the first city-wide food waste service to be introduced in the UK.  Every house has been given:

• a small brown kitchen waste caddy - for leftover food, raw or cooked
• larger brown bucket – to empty the food in the kitchen caddy into, which can be locked and collected
• green bins are also available for those with large gardens – for collecting garden waster and even cardboard

Food waste collected by the council: fruit and vegetables; meat and fish; cooked and uncooked food; leftover food; bread, pasta, cereal and rice; tea bags and coffee grounds; dairy products and eggshells; bones; small cardboard items (e.g. toilet paper rolls or egg boxes); small amounts of shredded paper; cornstarch liners (with the compost-friendly logo).

Food waste forms 30% of what is thrown away in the average Bristol bin. Using the food waste collection service prevents this waste going into landfill unnecessarily. All of the boxes are collected weekly by the council and taken to a special factory to be recycled into compost. 

Impact:

• the council reported city recycling rates rose from 18.5% to 25% in just a few months, and have now reached 40%
• the percentage of rubbish going to landfill in these areas has fallen by around 20%, a significant reduction

For more information on this initiative, visit Bristol City Council's page on kitchen waste recycling here.

Rotherham: converting vandals into park guardians

Rawmarsh Park in Rotherham was a crime hotspot strewn with litter, graffiti and abandoned vehicles. Yet turning vandals into park guardians has taken just two years – a success story that stems from creating the new post of Urban Park Development Ranger.

Before Paul Spriggs took up the post, the park suffered from graffiti, litter and abandoned vehicles, with up to 80 youths drinking alcohol, driving cars in and out at speed, and driving motorcycles through the park at weekends and in the evenings.

Ultimately, the goal was to make the park a highly used and valued space giving the local community a sense of ownership. One of the first projects Paul spent time setting up during his first year as Urban Park Development Ranger was a Junior Ranger programme on a small scale, although he initially found it "hard work convincing kids from an anti-social background to get involved".

Kids policing the park

Despite initial difficulties, Paul found that once signed up many of those involved were keen to do something worthwhile. Schools identified and referred a number of young people to the project at the beginning, with word of mouth alone now being enough to get kids involved.

The Junior Ranger programme has expanded, involving many more children, including those not from an anti-social background. Paul is keen on empowering the young people to take ownership of the park by guiding them on how to improve it.

The Junior Rangers, who are under the age of 16, get involved in everything from planting bulbs to painting and litter-picking. Paul, and other members of the community have found that as the scheme has grown in popularity, the school children take ownership of the park, thus causing an increased sense of pride with the youngsters naturally wanting to police it.

‘GRA-FIX’ strategy

Paul developed a multi-agency strategy, aimed at tackling the problem of graffiti and anti-social damage. He recorded the damage on a daily basis, and visited local schools to check the pictures against a visual database of graffiti ‘tags’ he had set up as part of the strategy. A confidential hotline was installed in a local school for young people to submit information. Once culprits were identified, they were invited to a meeting along with parents, the police and council representatives, with the strategy proving to be a success.

Funding

The high levels of community consultation, coupled with the progress the park was making, helped secure £350,000 in 2005 from the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder programme. Paul found that although he has “been met by some skepticism… the more you can show that parks are on the agenda, the more backing you will get from the public". Initially, Paul’s post was funded by Big Lottery funding, but as the council saw the value in his project work it was mainstreamed into a permanent post.

Park.Rangers, such as Paul, act as catalysts for the development of healthier lifestyles, safer communities, learning opportunities and community involvement, thereby increasing the value of the borough's green spaces.

For more information on Rotherham's Park Rangers, read the full case study here.

Further case studies will appear here shortly - please visit this page again soon