£13 million of government funding pledged to parks and public spaces

Parks and public green spaces are a crucial part of our landscape offering space to exercise, relax or just get away from it all. They are even more important in urban areas where people have less access to open spaces and fields. However, with tight budgets, many councils can find it hard to find sufficient funds to maintain and develop these important public facilities     

So, it’s good to hear that the government has confirmed an allocation of £13 million worth of funding to breathe new life into our green spaces.

Creating and maintaining green spaces

Announced by Communities Secretary the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP in February, the funding will inject much-needed cash into a variety of areas, from day-to-day maintenance costs to supporting the creation of new green spaces. 

On making the announcement, Mr Brokenshire commented: “Our parks and green spaces are huge assets to our towns and cities, offering precious spaces for all of us to get together, to exercise and to play. This latest funding will support bold proposals to help renovate and restore existing parks and create new vibrant, safe green spaces for our communities. The future of our nation’s parks is an issue close to all our hearts and we will do all we can to preserve these vital green lungs that breathe life into our communities.”

An additional £2.75 million has also been pledged to aid the creation and maintence of pocket parks with the aim of helping communities transform their neglected and derelict spaces.

A further £1.2 million has been provided to the National Trust and The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Future Parks Accelerator initiative. Th is initiative helps local authorities to test new approaches to managing and funding parks. 

Supporting councils in park maintenance 

Amberol’s MD Patience Atkinson-Gregory is delighted to see this commitment from the government, saying: “It’s important to protect and maintain Britain’s green spaces for future generations. This is one of the driving forces behind the ‘Greening Grey Britain’ campaign, instigated by the RHS. At Amberol, we have long supported councils and local authorities in finding affordable ways of maintaining their parks and public spaces by supplying maintence-saving self-watering planters that quickly brighten up any park or public space with florals and greenery.  Amberol’s animal shaped litter bins are also very popular in parks and playgrounds, helping to increase litter collection rates.”

Green Flag scheme extended 

In addition to the latest funding pledge, the government has extended the Green Flag Award licence by a further five years. The Green Flag award scheme recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the UK and around the world. The community-based campaign aims to ensure that everyone has access to quality green and other open spaces, irrespective of where they live.

Amberol’s range of self-watering planters can be seen in parks and public spaces across the country. From tiered planters to barrier baskets to our heritage range which includes stone effect troughs and wood effect barrels, our self-watering planters instantly bring colour to any park or public space – all while saving water and maintence costs thanks to our trademarked Aquafeed™ technology which means that most planters need watering just once a week. 

To find out more about Amberol’s self-watering planters or litter bins, or to arrange a no-obligation demonstration, call 01773 830 930 or email sales@amberol.co.uk.