Useful Links
Set up in 2003 by ODPM, (now Department for Communities and Local Government) CABE Space aims to bring excellence to the design, management and maintenance of parks and public space. Their web site includes publications on green space strategies and park management plans.
Green Flag Award
The Green Flag Award is the national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales. The award scheme began in 1996 as a means of recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country. For more information see Green Flag Awards. The Green Heritage Site part of the Green Flag Award is sponsored by English Heritage and promotes the value of, and best practice in, the care and upkeep of parks and green spaces in England that are of local or national historic interest.
GreenSpace
GreenSpace is a registered charity which works to improve parks and green spaces by raising awareness, involving communities and creating skilled professionals. English Heritage and partners commissioned GreenSpace - formerly the Urban Parks Forum - to undertake the Public Park Assessment report published in 2001. This report and other publications like Your Parks (also sponsored by English Heritage) are available on the GreenSpace web site.
GreenSpace now has a national network of its own or affiliated regional fora that focus on promoting the sustainable planning, design, management and improvement of parks and green spaces at a local and regional level. For information about your regional forum see www.green-space.org.uk/regions/index.php
English Heritage works closely with the Heritage Lottery Fund on its Public Parks Initiative and Townscape scheme. The HLF funded over £510 million to more than 1,600 projects for countryside, parks and gardens. Information on their grants and publications is available on their web site.
London Parks and Gardens Trust county garden trusts, and Garden History Society.
The London Parks and Gardens Trust works to promote and enhance the capital's green open spaces. In addition to running the Open Garden Squares Weekend, the trust leads walks in London's green spaces, organises lectures, conferences and study days, produces an academic journal (The London Gardener) and a newsletter (London Landscapes), has created, and maintains, an inventory of over 2,200 London historical green spaces, educates young students about parks through a web-based learning tool, and monitors planning applications for their impact on parks. For information about other county gardens trusts see Association Of Gardens Trusts
The Garden History Society is dedicated to the Conservation and study of historic designed gardens and landscapes.
Department for Communities and Local Government
and Cleaner Safer Greener Communities
The Government's vision is for cleaner, safer, greener communities. The key documents like Sustainable communities: building for the future, Living Places- Cleaner, Safer, Greener and the Urban Green Space Taskforce reports can be found under Department of Communities and Local Government sustainable communities section. Planning Policy Guidance PPG 17 Open Space, Sport and Recreation is under Planning.
The Parks & Gardens UK web resource went live in autumn 2007 and continues to be developed. By March 2009 there were 6,500 site records 2,000 biographies and 2,000 images; and of these, around 700 offer more detailed information as well as digitised maps, plans and images. As well as providing access to the database, the web resource features a range of educational resources on aspects of the design, social history, conservation, and people involved with historic designed landscapes. The web site has been designed for a variety of audiences, including academic researchers, professionals, students of all ages, lifelong learners, garden owners and tourists. The project is led by Parks and Gardens Data Services Limited (PGDS), a charity set up through partnership between the Association of Gardens Trusts and the University of York. The first phase of project was supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and in-kind contributions from volunteers and members of the Association of Gardens Trusts.
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