parks sector made by
voluntary and community
sector groups is at least
£35 million a year’
© P a rtn e rs h ip s fo r P a rk sFriends groups, for instance, have been set up to help maintain a number of urban green spaces. By building on the level of capacity at the neighbourhood level, city-wide voluntary and community groups have also developed as support organisations for green space. In these arrangements, not-for-profit
organisations work to develop community and political support for green space, facilitate partnerships with other sectors and provide sports and educational programmes.
In the USA, for example, Partnerships for Parks in New York and the Boston GreenSpace Alliance are city-wide, not-for-profit organisations that aim to support green space in their respective cities. The organisations’ focus is establishing city-wide networks or coalitions of constituents that are advocates for green space and can mobilise financial and political support from local communities, individuals, corporations and local government. To gather support and promote park advocacy, the not-for-profit organisations also organise community events and educational programmes in parks. In addition, Partnerships for Parks administers seed grants that provide start-up funding for new groups to establish themselves and join the network.
Unlike friends groups, the voluntary and not-for-profit sector can take sole policy- making and management responsibility for an area of green space, with a financial allocation from, or assets endowed by, the local authority. For example, under an agreement negotiated with the city authorities in Richmond, Virginia, in the USA, responsibility for operating and maintaining the green space in the Maymont Victoria estate was transferred to a not-for-profit organisation.
Not-for-profit partnerships, Red Cross Garden, London Borough of Southwark
Red Cross Garden in the London Borough of Southwark is owned by Southwark Council but leased and managed by Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST), a not-for-profit charitable organisation. The garden was originally laid out in 1887 by Octavia Hill and is situated within an area of Southwark that has few areas of open green space; in particular, it lacks large areas of green space.
BOST works with a range of organisations to facilitate community involvement and volunteering in the parks and open spaces in north Southwark. It has 40 regular volunteers, of which 15 volunteer in the management and upkeep of Red Cross Garden.
BOST supports a small steering group of local people, businesses and council officers who meet regularly to talk about the maintenance and upkeep of parks in north Southwark and to discuss the organisation of events and activities to encourage local people to use these parks. For example, to celebrate the reopening of Red Cross Garden, BOST organised a community event that was attended by over 200 people, including Princess Anne. The day’s activities included maypole dancing, a puppet show and Victorian hat-making.
In addition, BOST sub-contracts works to other organisations such as those for the homeless and people with special needs. This encourages wider participation and involvement and provides maintenance contracts at a competitive rate. Although the park is financed by the council’s parks department budget, BOST’s charitable status provides the opportunity to attract funding, albeit in more limited amounts, from private donations and grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the DCLG. Furthermore, Southwark Council provides in-kind support to BOST, for example advice about graffiti removal and ways to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Source: Interview with representatives of Southwark Council and BOST.
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Not-for-profit ownership of green spaces, Coin Street, London Borough of Lambeth
Located in central London, Bernie Spain Gardens is an area of green space that is owned and managed by the Coin Street Community Builders (CSCB). CSCB is a development trust and social enterprise business set up by local residents which uses commercial income to cross-subsidise community activities that would otherwise be unviable.
In 1984 CSCB purchased 13 acres of derelict land on the south bank of the river Thames from the Greater London Council. This was funded by borrowing against revenue from temporary car parking on the site. Since then, CSCB has overseen the demolition of derelict buildings, the completion of the South Bank riverside walkway, the building of 220 co-op homes for families in need, the creation of Gabriel’s Wharf market, and the refurbishment of Oxo Tower Wharf for mixed uses including shops, restaurants, retail design studios and flats. As part of this development, a riverside park, Bernie Spain Gardens, was created. This area of green space is managed and maintained by CSCB’s in-house estates team. It is the location for an annual programme of festivals and events. Costs are met from CSCB’s commercial activities elsewhere on the site.
Source: Coin Street Community Builders http://www.coinstreet.org
In England, neighbourhood ownership of urban green spaces by non-profit trust organisations is encouraged in government proposals. The recent policy documents, Citizen engagement and public services(2005),76and
Community assets: the benefits and costs of community management and ownership(2006)77outline how not-for-profit trust organisations, accountable to the local community, could take ownership of land and property. Such organisations could seek to transform the property into an amenity for local people, from which revenue can be generated that can be reinvested for the future benefit of the community. The amenity could be an area of urban green space or a community business, which could make a contribution towards green space maintenance.
As an alternative to outright ownership, partnership arrangements have been established in which local authorities retain ownership of green space but not-for-profit organisations undertake responsibility for specific functions. Maintenance, operations and fundraising can be shared between the local authority and the not-for-profit sector for specific green spaces within the neighbourhood. Depending on the relationship, the roles and relative degrees of responsibility of the partners can vary.
The city authority in New York, USA, for example, has contracted most of the day-to-day maintenance of Central Park to a non-profit organisation, the Central Park Conservancy.
Similarly, in London, Red Cross Garden is owned by Southwark Council but leased and managed by Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST), a not-for- profit organisation.