Groundwork calls on nation to love and to cherish green spaces

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28 Apr 2011

 Groundwork is calling for people to make vows similar to those
that will be made during the Royal wedding

Leading environmental regeneration charity Groundwork is today calling on the nation to show its commitment to local green spaces by vowing to love and to cherish them for better or for worse, and for richer or poorer as part of a campaign highlighting the crucial role they play in building stronger communities.

The call for people to make these vows – similar to those that will be made during tomorrow’s Royal wedding – is part of Groundwork’s ‘Urban Oasis’ campaign, which urges people to love their local green space or lose it in the face of ever increasing budgetary pressures for green space maintenance.

Almost half of local authority green space teams face deeper budget cuts than those imposed elsewhere in their organisation. 

Findings from a GreenSpace survey of 63 local authorities reveal that 82% of local authority parks and green space teams face budget cuts of which:

• 30% will lose 20% of their budget
• 46% will face budget reductions that are greater than those facing the organisation as a whole and this trend looks set to continue across the following three years

Other figures reveal that 80 per cent expect quality standards to fall while 67 per cent report they won’t be able to keep sites as beautiful and aesthetically appealing.
 
Groundwork chief executive, Tony Hawkhead, said: 

“Groundwork has been passionate about creating and improving great outdoor places for community benefit for 30 years and, in our experience, people care passionately about their local green space – right down to the smallest pocket of a park in a housing estate. 

“They are inexpensive places where people, particularly the most disadvantaged, can meet friends, exercise, stay healthy and enjoy a sense of well-being – all crucial ingredients of a better and stronger society.

“As the figures from the GreenSpace survey show, our patches of nature are coming under increasing threat from all angles and now, more than ever, we need to find new ways of securing their future.”