London elections on 3^rd May

Contact your local candidates to find out what they will do for your parks and green spaces

 

To London’s Parks Friends/Community Groups                                        cc. All London Borough Heads of Parks Services

 

Local elections will be held on May 3^rd. We urge you to take this opportunity to contact your local candidates standing for election, to lobby for issues that are important to you in relation to your local park or green space. Get them to support our Parks Manifesto https://parksforlondon.org.uk/london-parks-manifesto-2018/

 

We are calling on all of London’s candidates for the 2018 Council elections to support parks and green spaces in their Borough by:

 

1. Protecting and safeguarding parks and green spaces from loss or unwanted development

 

2. Managing and maintaining parks and greens spaces to best practice standards

 

3. Committing adequate long-term resources for management, maintenance and improvements

 

4. Encouraging community and volunteer engagement in all areas, with specific reference to the health and well-being agenda

 

5. Collaborating and cooperating across all London Boroughs to protect and promote our parks and green spaces

 

Please remind them that parks and green spaces are an essential resource for all our communities, providing numerous benefits and services: health, sports, leisure, education, play, social cohesion, local economy and biodiversity, to name just a few. They are used by virtually everyone and as such they should receive the resources they need to ensure they can fulfil their vital functions.

 

In spite of the essential role London’s parks and green spaces play, we are entering a local and national greenspace crisis due to continued cuts to parks budgets. Park lovers need to speak out now. Past experience of revenue cuts has shown that if local spaces are poorly resourced they are very likely to become problem spaces with negative effects on our communities. Furthermore with London’s rising population and space shortages for housing and schools, this means we need more green space. On top of cuts there is a growing pressure on greenspace in every Borough, which is leading more and more to inappropriate urban development, commercialism and even sell-offs of green space.

 

Your local parks/green spaces have their own specific issues and needs which ought to be heard and addressed.  With over 600 local Friends Groups across London you make up a growing and powerful force. We encourage you to publicly raise the profile of your local parks and the benefits that they afford your local communities.  Your group can influence future Councillors and political parties who will make funding and other decisions that will impact your local park. Please consider contacting your local newspaper too. This is your opportunity to make our local parks a priority.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

Tony Leach
Chief Executive, Parks for London
020 7983 4495 | 07941 069351 | tony.leach@parksforlondon.org.uk

http://www.parksforlondon.org.uk/

 

If you’re not on the electoral register, you won’t be able to vote in local authority elections this May. You must have registered to have your say. Find out more at https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/ . The last date to register to vote in the local elections is Tuesday 17 April.

 

#LondonIsOpen

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