Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement presented the Borough Parks and Open Spaces Strategy which set out plans to attract investment, improve facilities and increase usage of the existing 28 parks and open spaces in the Borough over the next 10 years.

The Cabinet Member pointed to the masterplans for Abbey Green, Barking Park, Central Park, Eastbrookend Country Park, Greatfields Park, Mayesbrook Park, Old Dagenham Park, Parsloes Park, St Chads Park and Valence Park and referred to the improvements to Barking Park and Mayesbrook Park in recent years that had significantly improved usage and satisfaction levels amongst the community.  With regard to Parsloes Park, it was noted that the detailed masterplan, based around the theme “conserve, enhance and restore” had been brought forward in the programme in order to support a significant funding bid via the Park Life scheme and the planning process for the Youth Zone development.

Key features of the overall Strategy included encouraging the Borough’s faith groups to hold events in parks, volunteering and community food growing opportunities.  The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration commented on the links with other key Council objectives and policies, such as plans for a ‘Healthier Borough’, and suggested that:

(a)   Greater emphasis should be made of the three community orchards, made up of approximately 150 fruit trees, that had already been planted in the Borough;

(b)  The Council should lead on the development of a local food growing strategy to encourage healthier eating; and

(c)  Developers should be encouraged to use fruit trees and bushes in the design and landscaping of new developments.

On the issue of funding and the true value of parks and open spaces, the Commissioning Director for Culture and Recreation advised that while parks and open spaces had a book value of just £1 in pure accounting terms, the Council had adopted the Corporate Natural Capital Account approach which gave a far more accurate reflection of the value of the Borough’s parks by taking into account their wider community benefit, such as from improved heatlh and well-being and mitigation of air pollution.  The Commissioning Director undertook to provide Cabinet Members with some more information on that aspect.

The Cabinet resolved to adopt the Parks and Open Spaces Strategy at Appendix 1 to the report.