We all have fond memories of our local park, riding our bike, climbing trees hanging out in the shade of a tree on a summer’s afternoon.
How would it feel if those memories and the chance to
pass them on to the next generation were to be under threat?
Fields In Trust, a charity campaigning to protect
parks and other green spaces in the UK fear that may be the case and have
launched a ParkXtinction campaign in response [1].
The risk to parks in the local area is real and
alarming according to data provided by a search tool on the Fields In Trust
website.
In Stoke-on-Trent 99.7% of green spaces could be under
endangered, in Stafford 99.6% are at risk, Newcastle-under-Lyme fares slightly
better with 98.2% of green spaces being at risk, and in Staffordshire Moorlands
98.4% of green spaces are at risk.
A worrying picture of green spaces potentially under
threat, made even more alarming by the fact that Stoke-on-Trent and
Newcastle-under-Lyme councils are currently in the process of creating Local
Plans for housing that could see more pressure put on green spaces.
On Wednesday evening protesters picketed the meeting
of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council held at the Civic Offices in the town
to express their concern about the threat to local green spaces including Keele
Golf Course.
The evidence provided by Fields In Trust about the
extent of the threat to green spaces locally and nationally will only add to
their feelings of concern and anger.
Parks and other green spaces play a key role in
combating climate change by sequestering carbon, those in the local area
capture respectively 2,857 tons (Stoke-on-Trent); 2,622 tons (Staffordshire);
1,479 tons (Newcastle-under-Lyme); and 1,330 tons (Moorlands). (Data provided
by Fields In Trust)
Fields in Trust say parks have a vital role to play in
how communities respond to the impact of climate change, in a press statement
said their campaign aimed to provide “an opportunity to change way
we think about how green spaces contribute to climate change mitigation, to our
health, our wellbeing, and ultimately our futures.”
Speaking
about the importance of parks and other green spaces and the potential harm
done by their loss Helen Griffiths, Chief Executive of Fields In Trust told the
LocalGov website this week ‘These
parks and green spaces are under threat today, from financial and development
pressures and it is up to all of us to stem this cycle of disappearance and
decline. Our children and grandchildren deserve to have the same green space
opportunities that we did, so we need to act today before it’s too late’ [2]
Nationally
Fields in trust claim 94% of parks and green spaces could be under threat,
describing this as “an area almost
twice the size of London which could be lost forever. Unless we act now to
protect it”.
Parks have a significant role to play in
mitigating the impact of pollution and climate change on urban areas. This
includes removing air pollution worth £162.6 million in associated health
costs; mitigating against traffic noise; and providing £2.5 billion in
recreation spending (2017) [3].
Research carried out for Fields In Trust shows
that parks across the UK capture 402,000 tons of carbon, equivalent to taking
320,565 cars off the road each year.
The Fields In Trust data compiled using their
Green Space Index shows that 20,000 parks and green spaces in the UK could be
at risk. In March the charity entered into a strategic agreement with Liverpool
City Council to protect all the city’s parks from development in perpetuity,
the first such agreement made in the UK [4].
The charity is calling on local authorities and
members of the public to check whether their local park is under threat and to
join the campaign to protect them for generations to come.
[2] https://www.localgov.co.uk/Over-20000-green-spaces-on-endangered-list/53275
[3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/bulletins/uknaturalcapital/urbanaccounts
[4] https://www.localgov.co.uk/Liverpool-parks-to-be-protected-forever/52048
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