The Return of Place Based Funding – Are You Ready To Make the Case for Parks?
Back in February we posted a blog called A Place For Parks? We pondered what the increasing focus on the UK’s ‘left behind places’ meant for place based policy and where and how parks may have a key role to play. Well since then we’ve seen a bit of a splurge of Ministerial announcements on place based funding.
The £3.6 billion Stronger Towns Fund was originally launched in March. The fund will be allocated partly using a needs-based formula and partly through a competitive process. The towns eligible for support from the fund include places that have not always benefited from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas and local partnerships will have to draw up plans to transform their town’s economic growth prospects with a focus on improved transport, broadband connectivity, skills and culture. Clearly parks and the public realm have a key role to play in supporting economic growth in these towns.
The contribution of parks and green spaces to the local economy and local economic growth is well known and researched so it is vitally important that strong arguments are made to direct some of these funds towards improving and maintaining local town parks. In preparing the case for investing in parks its worth revisiting The Value of Public Space by CabeSpace, The Economic Value of Our Green Spaces by the Land Trust and DEFRA’s report on Green Infrastructure as an Economic Catalyst.
In August the Future High Streets Fund was expanded to £1 billion. The fund is aimed at helping local leaders transform their high streets and town centres by investing in housing, workplaces, infrastructure and culture. One of the aims of the fund is to strengthen community assets like parks near or on High Streets. Apart from the economic arguments above there are clear health and well being benefits to be secured from quality parks near or on High Streets. Again its worth revisiting the Healthy High Streets report from Public Health England as well as Putting Health into Place from the NHS.
As we pointed out in our February Blog this focus on place reflects a steady return to place based policy approaches to tackling inequality and unequal growth. The long awaited (still waiting) consultation on the government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (the cash to replace European funding post Brexit) is likely to set out how money will flow to places considered as ‘left behind’. Finally, whatever government appears from the Brexit mists investment in infrastructure will be a priority. The contribution of parks as essential green infrastructure will be key and working to secure the right investment into parks essential. We will address this in a future issue.
There is an important place for parks in all likely future place based approaches to tackling the problems of the UK’s left behind communities. But there is also an important challenge. In these places someone needs to champion parks and work across organisations and sectors to secure the investment opportunities. |