VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Judge rules in favour of campaigner in Battle for Brockwell
16/05/2025 A judge has ruled in favour of a campaigner who took legal action against Lambeth Council to stop it allowing the use of a local park for festivals. |
APSE: Parks under threat from cuts
14/10/2024 Parks and green spaces across the country are under threat from council funding cuts, the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) has warned. |
Manchester launches £15m clean-up drive
13/08/2024 Manchester City Council has unveiled plans to spend £15m revamping neighbourhoods and tackling waste. |
Two-thirds of councils to cut neighbourhood services
27/02/2024 Community services will have to be ‘drastically scaled back’ or cut altogether without further funding for councils, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
Government to install 100 chess tables
22/08/2023 One hundred new chess tables are set to be installed in public spaces across England as part of a £1m package, the Government has announced. |
Recycled soil used to create Liverpool’s largest park
08/08/2023 Liverpool City Council has used recycled soil from a former landfill site to create one of the largest transformed urban green spaces in England. |
Councils fear parks services will be ‘seriously affected’ by cuts
19/04/2023 Many councils are expecting cuts in their budgets for parks despite growing numbers of people using them, according to a new survey. |
Yorkshire Dales to see ‘significant boost’ in public transport
31/03/2023 Public transport in the Yorkshire Dales is to expand after the authority running the National Park agreed to encourage a ‘boost’ to bus and rail services. |
Councils report increase in dog fouling due to pandemic puppy boom
29/07/2022 More than half of local authorities have seen an increase in the amount of dog fouling since the start of 2021, a survey has revealed today. |
Green space provision should be central to levelling up, charity says
18/05/2022 The amount of green space per person is lower in areas that the Government is targeting as part of the levelling up agenda than it is elsewhere, study reveals. |
Mental health impacted by decline in green space
05/05/2022 Green space provision around housing developments has dramatically declined over the last century with negative consequences for mental health, research finds. |
Green spaces provide £25.6bn of ‘welfare value’ every year, study finds
04/05/2022 A new study has shown that parks and green spaces in England and Wales provide adults with £25.6bn of ‘welfare value’ each year. |
Councils urged to create inclusive child play spaces
16/03/2022 Leading UK charities and industry bodies have called on local authorities across the country to create accessible and inclusive child play spaces. |
Call to give local parks the same protection as national parks
02/02/2022 Local parks in poorer neighbourhoods are less likely to be protected from development than those in more affluent areas, new research has revealed. |
Over 20,000 green spaces on ‘endangered list’
17/11/2021 Over 20,000 parks and green spaces are at risk of being lost to building development, a charity has warned. |
Record number of parks achieve Green Flag Award
14/10/2021 Over 2,000 parks and green spaces across the UK have received a Green Flag Award for 2021. |
Young people urged to 'reclaim' their parks
09/09/2021 Young people often feel unwelcome in parks and other green spaces, a charity has warned. |
Council transfers ownership of Seven Sisters Country Park
13/08/2021 East Sussex County Council has transferred the ownership of the iconic Seven Sisters Country Park to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA). |
Councils welcome return of Parkrun events
26/07/2021 Council leaders have said they are ‘delighted’ that Parkrun events were able to return this weekend in England following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. |
Green space 'not equally accessible to all' index reveals
27/05/2021 The most deprived communities tend to have the less access to green spaces, an annual report has found. |
Green social prescribing projects chosen for funding
13/05/2021 Funding has been awarded to 10 green social prescribing projects to help communities recover from COVID-19. |
Poorer areas see greatest fall in park visits
13/05/2021 The poorest areas have reported the largest fall in the number of people visiting parks and green spaces during the pandemic, new research has uncovered. |
Calls to ring-fence funding for ‘social plumbing’
13/05/2021 The Government should spend 25% of its ‘levelling up’ funding on public spaces such as parks and playgrounds to help revive ‘left behind towns’, a new report has argued. |
Notts leader warns residents to stick to social distancing rules
31/03/2021 The leader of Nottingham City Council yesterday called on residents to stick to social distancing rules as lockdown restrictions are eased. |
Liverpool parks to be protected 'forever'
19/03/2021 Liverpool City Council has become the first local authority to legally protect the future of its parks and green spaces. |
Blossoming tree circles to be planted across UK
26/02/2021 Blossoming tree circles will be planted in cities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the next five years, as part of a new project to signal 'reflection and hope'. |
The winners of the 2020 Street Design Awards
18/12/2020 To end the year on a positive note, we are delighted to announce the winners of the 2020 Street Design Awards. |
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Survey shows public trusts councils more than Government on COVID
30/11/2020 The findings of a new opinion poll show the public trusts councils more than Government on the response to COVID, says APSE. |
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Councils warn about devastation to park services from pandemic
30/11/2020 Councils have warned that parks and green spaces are set to lose 87% of income due to the pandemic. |
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Record number of spaces achieve Green Flag Awards
14/10/2020 A record number of parks and green spaces have been recognised in this year's Green Flag Awards. |
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Councils spending thousands on 'littering epidemic' in parks
24/07/2020 Councils have been forced to spend an extra £33,000 on average dealing with litter and anti-social behaviour in parks since lockdown was eased, according to a new survey. |
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Call for £5.5bn to level up access to urban green spaces
07/07/2020 The prime minister has been urged to invest £5.5bn to 'level up' access to urban green spaces by a coalition of councils, city leaders and charities. |
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Parks are a 'smart investment' argues new report
24/06/2020 Parks save the health service over £2bn a year making them a ‘smart investment’, according to the Parks Alliance (TPA). |
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Public parks at 'significant' risk of loss, charity warns
28/05/2020 Hundreds of thousands of people could lose their local green space in the coming years due to development, research has warned today. |
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Report suggests a new tax for people living near to public parks
18/05/2020 Homeowners living near to public parks should pay councils a small tax to help cover the cost of their upkeep, a think tank has said. |
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Council mows grass in two metre 'channels' to promote social distancing
14/05/2020 Birmingham City Council has come up with an unusual way to remind people to obey social distancing rules, by mowing two metre strips into its parks and green spaces. |
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Councils praised for reopening hundreds of parks
27/04/2020 Councils have been praised for reopening around 340 parks and green spaces in the past week. |
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Councils warned ‘parks must remain open’
20/04/2020 Councils have been told they should not close parks in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus. |
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Councils urged to keep parks open where possible
06/04/2020 Councils have been told not to close parks unless it is impossible to maintain social distancing in them. |
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Counties warn about service closures during coronavirus
30/03/2020 Councils are being forced to close or reduce more services in order to divert resources to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. |
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Councils across the UK close parks to limit spread of coronavirus
23/03/2020 Councils have been forced to close parks and other public spaces in a bid to protect people from coronavirus. |
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Community groups get £1.35m to create ‘pocket parks’
03/03/2020 Dozens of community groups will receive funding to transform neglected urban spaces into ‘thriving green havens’, the Government has announced. |
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Last chance to enter the Street Design Awards
25/02/2020 There are only a few days left to enter the Street Design Awards 2020. |
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Only a month left to enter Street Design Awards 2020
30/01/2020 There is now only a month left to enter the Street Design Awards 2020, which celebrate best practice and innovation across the UK. |
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Council adopts new grass cutting approach to save bees
02/12/2019 Hertfordshire County Council is set to try out a new approach to grass cutting in an attempt to preserve wildflowers and the bees who rely on them. |
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Hedges around parks can halve pollution, study finds
21/11/2019 Planting a hedge in front of a park can cut air pollution in half, a new study has found. |
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Council accidentally cuts down 800 young trees
20/11/2019 Reading Borough Council has apologised to community volunteers after accidentally digging up hundreds of newly planted saplings. |
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The launch of the 2020 Street Design Awards
05/11/2019 The Street Design Awards 2020 have now been launched to celebrate best practice and innovation across the UK. |
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Council chiefs sceptical of £1.35m parks fund
28/10/2019 Local government leaders call for ‘long-term, sustainable funding’ to support green spaces in response to the Government’s launch of a £1.35m pocket parks fund. |
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A quarter of London’s parks have unsafe air quality
11/10/2019 One in four of green spaces in London breach safety limits for air quality, new analysis has revealed. |
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New financial model needed for national parks, review says
23/09/2019 A review of the way in which green spaces are managed could see more affordable housing built in rural areas and the introduction of a new financial model for national parks. |
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Government welcomes plans to create West Midlands national park
08/08/2019 Whitehall has welcomed proposals to create a new West Midlands urban national park that would span more than seven cities and open up hundreds of miles of green space. |
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London becomes world's first capital to achieve National Park City status
22/07/2019 London has become the first capital city in the world to be named as a National Park City. |
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Neighbourhood services cut by £8.9bn
22/07/2019 Funding for neighbourhood services across Britain has fallen 27% over the last decade, according to new research. |
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Report explores how public donations could protect future of parks
18/07/2019 Charitable donations could help protect the future of the UK’s parks and green spaces, a new report has found. |
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Parents urged to find time to take kids to the park
16/07/2019 Three-quarters of children would like to spend more time outdoors, according to a new survey published to coincide with Love Parks Week. |
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The winners of the 2019 Street Design Awards
26/06/2019 From the restoration of a historic burial site to a successful and innovative road safety scheme, the winners of the 2019 Street Design Awards have been revealed. |
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Urban Green Space Commended: Mitre Square, City of London Corporation
26/06/2019 Mitre Square in London has been commended in the urban green space category of the Street Design Awards. |
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Urban Green Space Highly Commended: Grantham Green, Eastleigh Borough Council
26/06/2019 This year's highly commended of the Urban Green Space category is Eastleigh Borough Council for its Grantham Green project. |
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Urban Green Space Winner: Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden, The terra firma Consultancy and Woking Borough Council
25/06/2019 The regeneration of the Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden in Woking has been crowned the winner of the Urban Green Space category. |
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Parks in danger of being sold, campaigners warn
23/05/2019 Campaigners are calling on local government and landowners to legally protect the parks and green spaces they own. |
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Play as a powerful motivator
26/04/2019 Beth Cooper explores the value of play and green places in preserving the nation’s health. |
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Nearly £4m made available for 'pocket parks'
26/03/2019 Over 40 derelict urban spaces across the country are to benefit from the Government’s multi-million pound pocket park fund. |
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Brokenshire announces £13m of ‘much-needed’ park funding
18/02/2019 Councils across the country are to benefit from a multi-million pound funding boost to ‘breathe new life’ into green spaces. |
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Popular council services could be swallowed by £8bn funding black hole
01/02/2019 Many popular council services could disappear by 2025 due to a £8bn funding black hole, council leaders have warned today. |
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Launch of the 2019 Street Design Awards
07/12/2018 The Street Design Awards, celebrating innovation and best practice in street design schemes across the UK, have been relaunched by Local Government News magazine. |
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Whitehall announces £1m ‘pocket park’ fund
05/12/2018 Community groups can bid for a share of a £1m fund to help them develop ‘pocket parks’. |
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Councils face calls to ban 'dangerous' weedkiller
14/08/2018 Councils are facing calls to ban the use of a controversial weedkiller after a landmark legal decision in the US. |
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Charities to give parks a £1.5m ‘innovation boost’
23/07/2018 Local authorities and other organisations have received a £1.5m ‘innovation boost’ in order to help them find new ways to sustainably run parks. |
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Councils could save thousands with ‘bee-friendly’ policies
18/07/2018 Local authorities can save thousands of pounds by adopting ‘bee-friendly’ grass cutting plans, campaigners say. |
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Nearly 2,000 green spaces celebrated in Green Flag Awards
17/07/2018 From traditional parks to burial sites, a record number of green spaces have been awarded a Green Flag this year. |
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What future for our parks?
02/07/2018 A survey has revealed 85% of councils expect to cut budgets for parks in the next five years. Mark Whitehead finds out what impact this will have on council-owned green spaces. |
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Councils slash £15m from parks budgets
21/06/2018 Parks and green spaces are falling into ‘disrepair’ because of budget cuts, freedom of information requests reveal. |
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Council drops plans to sell 10% of its parks
12/06/2018 Knowsley Council has agreed to drop proposals to sell 10% of the borough’s parks. |
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Parks provide over £34bn of health benefits, report says
08/05/2018 Parks and green spaces across the UK provide people with over £34bn of health and wellbeing benefits, report says. |
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£1m project to prove economic value of urban green spaces
25/04/2018 A new toolkit to calculate the economic value of urban greenspace is being developed with £1m funding from Innovate UK. |
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London councils protecting parks ‘despite cuts’, report finds
28/02/2018 London boroughs are working hard to protect parks and green spaces ‘despite funding cuts’, research says. |
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Getting into a lather over weed control
22/01/2018 Lewes District Council has been trialling the use of an eco-friendly hot foam weed killer as an alternative to traditional pesticides. Laura Sharman reports on the results. |
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Council agrees to place parks in charitable trust
11/01/2018 Knowsley has agreed to establish a charitable trust to manage the borough’s green spaces after the scrutiny committee requested the decision be put on hold. |
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Council puts on hold plans to sell 10% of parks
21/12/2017 A council is having second thoughts about selling-off 10% of its parks after its scrutiny committee raised concerns. |
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Council agrees to sell off 10% of its parks
30/11/2017 Knowsley Council has ‘unanimously’ agreed to sell off 10% of the borough’s parks and green spaces for new development over the next 15 years. |
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Newcastle first authority to set up charitable trust to run parks
22/11/2017 Newcastle has become the first major metropolitan authority in the UK to establish an independent charitable trust to run the city’s parks and allotments. |
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Yorkshire national park urges developers to build in the Dales
30/10/2017 A national park in Yorkshire is encouraging developers to build new homes on their land in an attempt to tackle a housing shortage in the Dales. |
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Liverpool approves plans to hand parks contract to council company
27/10/2017 Liverpool City Council has approved plans to award its parks and green spaces maintenance contract to Liverpool Street Scene Services Limited. |
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Council-owned company set to take over maintenance of Liverpool’s green spaces
20/10/2017 The contract to maintain Liverpool’s green spaces is to be handed to a council-owned company which operates the refuse, recycling and street cleansing service. |
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The future of grass breeding
12/10/2017 William Eichler reports from a grass seed facility in France to see how the particular needs of local authorities are being met. |
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Councils support parks research despite funding pressures
19/09/2017 Council chiefs have thrown their support behind a new Government-created group looking into the future of parks despite funding pressures. |
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Green Flag Awards extended by five years
23/08/2017 Britain's best parks and open spaces will continue to be rewarded for another five years after Whitehall announced an extension of the Green Flag Award scheme. |
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Councils urged to make public spaces more accessible
22/08/2017 Councils should ensure bins and other street furniture does not stop people with mobility issues from using public spaces, under guidance published yesterday. |
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Record number of spaces raising the Green Flag
18/07/2017 A record number of parks and green spaces have been given a Green Flag Award this year. |
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Council could save £110m through transfer of parks to trust
10/07/2017 Plans to transfer the responsibility of parks and green spaces to a charitable trust in Newcastle would save the council £110m over a 125-year lease agreement. |
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Green spaces health ‘asset’ to communities, charity says
10/07/2017 Parks are an asset to communities and should not be viewed as a burden by local authorities, charity says as it launches new research findings. |
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Weed killer ban could add £230m to council tax bills
09/05/2017 A local authority ban on the use of chemical-based weed killers in public places could cost the tax payer nearly £230m, new figures reveal. |
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Councils to be banned for charging parkruns to use parks
18/04/2017 Councils could be banned from charging parkruns to use public parks, under new proposals unveiled by the Government. |
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Public parks at ‘tipping point’ due to funding cuts
13/02/2017 Public parks are facing a period of decline due to budget cuts of up to 97%, a new report has warned. |
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Public parks generate ‘large surplus’ of £1.2bn
24/10/2016 Public parks and green spaces provide benefits worth over a billion pounds and are not the liability they appear in public accounts, a new study reveals. |
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Councils should have legal duty to protect parks, says public
28/09/2016 Three quarters of the public believe councils should have a statutory duty to protect parks, a new survey has revealed. |
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Parks should be ‘no smoking zones’ to protect children, experts say
26/09/2016 Local authorities should ban smoking in areas where children play or learn, environmental health professionals urge. |
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Councils selling off parks and green spaces
07/09/2016 More than half of local authorities are set to sell off their parks or transfer the management of them, according to the Heritage Lottery Fund. |
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Council considers using parks as flood defences
01/08/2016 Sheffield City Council is consulting on proposals to divert floodwater into parks and woodlands in the event of a severe storm. |
