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Lands cape & Ame ni t y w w w . l a n d s c a p e a n d a m e n i t y. c o m

June 2022 Special Feature SAGE 2022 preview

Protecting public parks is key to achieving the Levelling-Up ambitions If progress is to be made on the Government’s flagship “levelling-up” agenda the nation’s parks must be protected from further loss, according to green space charity Fields in Trust. Their annual ‘Green Space Index’ report suggests Britain’s local parks and green spaces have a significant role to play in

restoring a sense of community and local pride as well as contributing to health, wellbeing and climate change resilience. Local authorities in the Government’s priority levelling-up areas have, on average, 10% less green space provision when benchmarked against the amount communities need to thrive. The amount of green space per person

in these priority levelling-up areas is set to decline by 2040 as population grows. The unequal distribution and access to local parks is stark and felt the most in those left behind neighbourhoods which are already missing out on the physical health, mental wellbeing and environmental impacts of local green space. Earlier research from Fields in Trust valued the health and wellbeing benefits for park users at more than £34 billion each year. Regular users of parks have fewer visits to their GP resulting in an annual saving to the NHS of £111 million. Fields in Trust’s Green Space Index analysis demonstrates the disparities between nations and regions that the Levelling-Up programme is attempting to rectify. Fields in Trust found that Yorkshire and the Humber and the north west region fall well below a minimum standard for green space. Scotland, at 41 square metres per person, has more green space provision than

OneAgency to support SALTEX 2022 Following a successful competitive tender, Norwichbased marketing agency, OneAgency, has been appointed by the Grounds Management Association (GMA) to lead the marketing communications activity for this year’s SALTEX. Now in its 76th year, Europe’s largest sports amenities and landscaping trade exhibition, SALTEX, will be held at Birmingham’s NEC over two days 2-3 November. GMA Commercial and Events Director, Sarah Cunningham says: “We have every confidence

that OneAgency’s digitalled, integrated marcomms approach will help us to realise our ambitions to attract record visitors and make this year’s SALTEX one of the best yet. “People are keen to get back to face-to-face events, to network with industry colleagues, learn about the latest innovations, and see what manufacturers and industry suppliers have to offer. We are delighted to welcome the OneAgency team into the SALTEX family.” SALTEX Enquiry 2

both England and Wales. As a region, London’s green space is very accessible, but the region has the least green space per person, at just 19 sqm.

Chair of Fields in Trust, Jo Barnett, said: “We know that parks and green spaces play a vital role in people’s health and wellbeing, yet the Green Space Index demonstrates uneven provision across Great Britain, and our most vulnerable communities are impacted negatively.

Speaking at the Westminster launch of the charity’s new analysis, Clive Betts MP, Chair of the DLUHC Parliamentary select committee and a Trustee of the Fields in Trust charity said “The role of green infrastructure in planning and healthy placemaking should be central to government ambitions to rebalance geographic inequalities. Yet 2.8 million people already live more than a ten-minute walk from a public park, with levelling-up target areas having around 10% less green space than the average across Britain.”

“Although the scale and interdependency across the levelling-up portfolio is intensely complex, parks and green spaces deliver impacts across the range of social policy agendas yet remain undervalued for the multiple benefits they contribute to our communities. The climate crisis adds a new impetus to protect urban green space and as our work in Liverpool shows local authorities are recognising the important part green space plays in our neighbourhoods, towns and cities and stepping-up to ensure it is future proofed.”

Fields in Trust’s analysis suggests that, unless local parks and green spaces are protected in the long-term, any levelling-up interventions will be transitory. Fields in Trust Enquiry 1

BIGGA launches major survey

Anecdotal evidence suggests that golf clubs are struggling to fill available vacancies, particularly in the greenkeeping department. Reasons generally put forward for this include the requirement to work anti-social hours, lack of appreciation and a relatively low entry salary. However, for those who do embark upon a career in greenkeeping, the positives are many.

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “With the ongoing cost of living crisis at the forefront of our minds and the COVID-19 pandemic having caused many people to consider their priorities, the golf industry faces a very real challenge to engage sufficient staff at club level, to effectively deliver the sport to the nation’s five million

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regular golfers. Participation in the sport is booming at just the time that recruiting and retaining greenkeeping staff is at its most challenging. It is vital the golf industry – utilising real data – considers positive solutions to the ongoing labour issues.” BIGGA Enquiry 3

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