House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee
Public parks Seventh Report of Session 2016–17 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 30 January 2017
HC 45
Published on 11 February 2017 by authority of the House of Commons
Communities and Local Government Committee The Communities and Local Government Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Communities and Local Government. Current membership
Mr Clive Betts MP (Labour, Sheffield South East) (Chair) Rushanara Ali MP (Labour, Bethnal Green and Bow) Bob Blackman MP (Conservative, Harrow East) Helen Hayes MP (Labour, Dulwich and West Norwood) Kevin Hollinrake MP (Conservative, Thirsk and Malton) Julian Knight MP (Conservative, Solihull) David Mackintosh MP (Conservative, Northampton South) Melanie Onn MP (Labour, Great Grimsby) Mr Mark Prisk MP (Conservative, Hertford and Stortford) Mary Robinson MP (Conservative, Cheadle) Alison Thewliss MP (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Central) Powers
The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication
Committee reports are published on the Committee’s website at www.parliament.uk/clg and in print by Order of the House. Evidence relating to this report is published on the inquiry publications page of the Committee’s website. Committee staff
The current staff of the Committee are Mark Etherton (Clerk), Tamsin Maddock (Second Clerk), Craig Bowdery (Committee Specialist), Nick Taylor (Committee Specialist), Tony Catinella (Senior Committee Assistant), Eldon Gallagher (Committee Support Assistant), Gary Calder (Media Officer) and Alexander Gore (Media Officer). Helen Finlayson was Second Clerk of the Committee during this inquiry. Contacts
All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Communities and Local Government Committee, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 4972; the Committee’s email address is
[email protected] Public parks
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Contents Summary3 1
2
3
Introduction and background
6
Our inquiry
7
Ministerial responsibility
9
Why do parks matter?
11
The role of parks
11
Children and young people
12
Physical and mental health and wellbeing
14
Active travel
16
Community cohesion and identity
16
Biodiversity and access to nature
18
Local economy and growth
18
Climate change and the environment
19
The diverse role of parks
20
Assessing the value of parks
20
What challenges are facing the parks sector?
25
Competing demands and tensions between park users
25
parkrun27
4
The impact of funding reductions
29
Health and safety in parks
34
Access to revenue and capital funding
36
Unequal distribution of parks and green spaces
38
Access to green spaces in deprived areas
38
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11.7
40
Impact on children and young people
41
Impact on people with disabilities
42
Planning policy
42
Green infrastructure
45
