Parks, leisure and the arts Summary of our Update on Parks report

Types of parks and themes

We're suggesting plans for three different kinds of park:

Local Parks and Green Spaces: small parks, centres of the immediate community with one or more features such as a play area, sports facilities, grass and flower beds. Examples include Goldstone Gardens, Riverside Park, High Bank Park and Mersey Bank Park.

Community Parks: local parks with more than just one leisure use and more visitors with potential to host formal and informal recreational and small community events. Examples include Brookdale Park, Chorlton Park, Crowcroft Park, Fog Lane Park, and Swinton Grove Park.

Destination Parks: in predominant areas of open space with visitor attractions, a range of facilities and uses with some major events. Examples include Heaton Park, Wythenshawe Park, Alexandra Park, Boggart Hole Clough, Chorlton Water Park and Platt Fields Park.

Four themes in our parks strategy

1. Parks at the heart of neighbourhoods

Focus on the future provision of parks: where they are now, how they're grouped and how they fit in with and support their surrounding neighbourhoods and communities.

How they can be sustained to make their neighbourhoods places where people want to live. How standards should rise and how those who care for the neighbourhood - including volunteers and non-profit organisations – can grow stronger relationships and new ways of working with parks.

2. Active parks, healthy communities

Focus on getting parks used and enjoyed more: what do individual parks do, what's their main use and exactly what do they give and mean for users? They need to be there for everyone - no matter where in the city they live, or where they come from. There needs to be public transport for those who don't walk there and parks should meet local needs including children's and young people's.

There should be organised, regular activities like bowls, park runs, cycling or outdoor health and adventure activities. We will look at formalised heritage and conservation activities that people can join in, and other educational opportunities. Groups to target include 0-to-5 year-olds, youth, adults, families and older people connecting through the Age-Friendly Strategy.

3. A ‘standard’ for Manchester parks

Focus on improving management and maintenance and consider how parks are looked after now and in the future. Make sure everyone can get to a good quality, vibrant, well-maintained park or green space. For this to work, have a single, local leadership for management and work in parks meeting common standards for Manchester parks. A 'Manchester standard' park could be:

  1. welcoming
  2. safe and secure
  3. clean and well maintained
  4. environmentally friendly
  5. promoting healthy lifestyles
  6. promoting conservation and heritage
  7. managed by an appropriate workforce and or volunteers
  8. involving the local community
  9. moving to more sustainable funding
  10. communicated and marketed appropriately 

We could establish a regular programme of training and horticultural skills development for our grounds maintenance teams, community groups and others that includes apprenticeships and back-to-work programmes. We could also develop a management and maintenance innovation programme to try out new techniques in landscape maintenance.

4. Productive parks in partnership

Focus on more collaboration in park upkeep and care that brings additional income, gives others a bigger role with more responsibilities across neighbourhoods and communities, and fosters different relationships and ways of working.

We want to be more enterprising in some parks where it's appropriate, including the 'destination' parks, to help with running costs and subsidise the cost of services. We could look at catering and conferences, private sector arrangements with suitable income-generating sports – like 5-a-side, golf and community events – and hosting medium-to-large-scale events.

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