Issue - meetings

A deputation had been received from the Haringey Friends of Parks Forum in relation to item 9 of the Agenda – the Borough Plan – and in relation to the objective of protecting and improving parks, open spaces and green space, as well as promoting community use.

Mr Dave Morris, Chair of Haringey Friends of Parks Forum, was invited by the Leader to put forward his deputation to Cabinet.

Mr Morris introduced the Cabinet to the deputation pack of documents. Mr Morris began his representations by highlighting that the Forum were the Council’s key partner in the running of the Borough’s green spaces. The Forum represented 45 or more Local Friends of Parks Groups and spoke for park users and local communities. Mr Morris highlighted that the Forum raised millions of pounds for improvements and annually added thousands of hours of volunteering to improve parks.

Mr Morris emphasised that green spaces were unique resources for all ages and sections of communities for a whole range of benefits, which were either statutory outcomes the Council were trying to achieve or the Council policy commitments. Mr Morris noted that the Forum wanted all the Council departments to recognise the central importance of parks for all of the outcomes that they aimed to achieve. 

Mr Morris pointed out that there was a growing underfunding and understaffing crisis in the Parks Service, which emanated since budgets were cut by 50% in 2011. Mr Morris noted that the situation was deteriorating year on year and referred to the Evidence Sources in bullet points within the deputation pack of documents. Mr Morris argued that failure to reverse the underfunding would lead to growing anti-social behaviour, collapse in usage, and a colossal effort and huge costs at a later stage to try to restore the situation.

Mr Morris asserted that solutions that been identified and put forward that the Forum called for:

• The Cabinet to implement in full the 2018 recommendations of the Council’s Scrutiny Committee on Parks, many of which had been agreed or partially agreed by the Cabinet
• The Cabinet to implement its manifesto commitments to invest more in parks; and
• Adequate funding levels to be provided to the Parks Service so they could achieve those commitments.

Mr Morris mentioned that the Cabinet had agreed in principle to protect all of Haringey’s parks ‘in perpetuity’ and increase the number of those reaching Green Flag standard; however, inappropriate uses of parks would compromise and undermine such aims, such as organising or allowing huge disruptive and controversial commercial events which would cause detriment and exclude local residents from their park during the Summer.

Mr Morris noted that the most important part of the proposal was that the Forum called for the Cabinet to initiate a full investigation into how the Parks Service could get access to appropriate sources of funding from a whole range of sources from planning gain (CIL and s106), Transport for London travel budgets, public health,  other departments, capital pots, and appropriate outside sources.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 177