The People, Places and their Green Spaces report, produced by the national standard for parks and green spaces, Green Flag, asked 900 members of the public when and how they use green space in the country, the facilities they use and improvements that should be made. It also asked people that don’t currently use parks, only 10% of the population, why they don’t and what needs to be done to encourage use. This is one the first research projects of its kind that focuses on the visitor requirements for urban parks and green spaces in the UK.
Key findings from the report include:
• More than 50% of people visit a park at least once a week
• Fear of crime, poor access (due to transport or a disability), litter and potential for boredom were given as reasons for people never or very rarely visiting a park
• Many respondents said the presence of a park keeper would greatly enhance their local green space
• The most common activities visitors to parks and green spaces take part in include walking, playing with children, general socialising, dog walking, feeding the ducks, picnics/barbecues and unorganised sports
Paul Todd Green Flag Awards manager told The Landscaper “These findings, the first of their kind in the UK, will play an important role in helping to shape our green spaces in the future. In addition, the report will influence how we raise the public’s awareness of the Green Flag Award scheme and what they can expect when they visit a Green Flag Award-winning park or green space.”
Download a copy of the report ;
http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/greenflag/ImgLibrary/GreenSpaces_8204.pdf
www.greenflagaward.org.uk
The Green Flag Award Scheme is managed by a consortium, comprising Keep Britain Tidy, BTCV and GreenSpace. Known collectively as the Green Flag Plus Partnership, the consortium manages the scheme in England on behalf of Communities and Local Government (CLG) and in Wales for the Welsh Steering Group.