Agenda item

To receive an update on the delivery of the actions set out in the Leeds Parks and Green Spaces Strategyin the period since its publication in March 2022.

The report of the Chief Officer (Parks and Countryside) provided an update on the progress with delivering actions set out in in the Leeds Parks and Green Spaces Strategy one year on from its publication, covering the period March – December 2022.

Appended to the submitted report was a copy of the strategy and a progress update on the actions contained within the strategy.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Councillor S Arif, Executive Member for Public Health, and Active Lifestyles

·  Sean Flesher, Chief Officer Parks, and Countryside

·  Emma Trickett, Parks Technical Manager

The Executive Member for Public Health, and Active Lifestyles introduced the item, explaining that the report provides an update on progress made and sets out the authority’s vision to provide the best parks and greenspaces in the UK.

Officers in attendance provided an update relating to the eight priorities as outlined in the submitted report. Those being:

·  Quality – all city parks achieved the national Green Flag standard. An aspiration set out in the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) is for all community parks to reach the Leeds Quality Park (LQP) standard during the strategy.

·  Climate and biodiversity – planting 50 hectares of trees each year. The KPI was met in 2021/22 and the service are on target for the current year. Seasonal bedding has been reduced by 50% in 2022 and replaced with pollinator friendly wildflower mixes.

·  Access for all – the service partnered with West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) on an externally funded ‘Safer Streets’ research project. Research will contribute to design guides to ensure park designs are female friendly.

·  Culture – the service continues to progress on the cultural offer of the city. an indoor play-barn is being constructed at Temple Newsam Home Farm, a new flagship play area at Lotherton and plans for a natural history indoor play area at Tropical World.

·  Child friendly – the service continues to invest in play facilities. In 2022, 530k of Section 106 monies was invested across 11 different sites.

·  Working with communities – the service continues to work with a range of partners including Friends groups, Bloom groups, Sports clubs, and self-managed allotment sites.

·  Financial sustainability - several different funding mechanisms continue to be used to improve greenspaces and parks across Leeds. Monies include S106, Town’s Fund, unsuccessful bids to the Levelling Up Fund and work undertaken to create Plans on a Page for community parks.

·  Health and wellbeing – developing sports facilities through partnerships and externally funding a multi-use games area (MUGA), as well as football pitch improvements.

Board members raised the following key areas for discussion:

·  Volunteering opportunities and ways in which to raise capacity within communities, and whether Voluntary Action Leeds are involved in training.

·  Clarity on how inflation has affected supply of materials necessary to deliver greenspace / park improvements.

·  The importance of providing play facilities in built-up areas and the safety provisions in place to keep children safe from harm and busy roads.

·  A suggestion to increase litter and dog fouling bins across community parks.

·  Clarity on the assessment for community parks to reach the LQP standard.

·  The importance of embedding a tree management policy in light of increased tree planting and the process for assessing the success of tree planting in relation to the Council’s targets.

·  Accessibility issues for disabled residents accessing parks and greenspaces, including the difficulty of enabling access for those on motorised scooters while also restricting access for vehicles that can cause anti-social behaviour such as quad bikes.

·  Concern regarding public toilets not being in use / available to the public at specific locations such as Yeadon Tarn and conflicting information regarding opening hours being published online.

·  Considerations around provision for older children and girls at public parks.

·  Being considerate and mindful of relaxed mowing in areas such as graveyards and sheltered accommodation.

·  Concerns regarding CIL monies replacing S106.

·  A suggestion was made that a document is produced to keep members up to date on projects, and to show what is outstanding in a particular area.

·  Member involvement in terms of the Plan on a Page for communities.

In response to the concerns raised, the following information was relayed to members:

·  Volunteering – there are several rangers who support volunteer groups and officers, allowing them to become more independent by offering partnership agreements and insurance. The service is seeking funding to support additional community engagement. The Parks Forum is made up of partners who meet periodically, typically 2 meetings on an afternoon and 2 in the evening. The Leeds Parks Forum website[1] provides information on how people can form their own group and includes key information. It was also noted that tree planting programmes are oversubscribed with volunteers.

·  Green burials – whilst the service does not currently offer this as an option, this is being explored.

·  Challenges with supply chains and inflation – during the Covid-19 pandemic, construction work was suspended. There are now supply chain issues, increased costs and difficulties in obtaining parts for play equipment.

·  Investing in playgrounds – members determine how S106 is distributed across communities. Significant investment is required for such projects, are most require S106 monies. Surplus money gained from projects via the service, will be invested in some of the sites not benefitting from greenspaces funding. Additionally, a paper will be produced on how discretionary funding can be used. Members can be provided with details on the 11 sites where monies have been invested for play facilities.

·  Keeping children safe – playgrounds are assessed on an induvial basis and a risk assessment is undertaken to identify the appropriate mitigation. If there are high risk areas that require attention, members are asked to provide details to officers to review the site.

·  The majority of the Leeds community parks meet the LQP standard.

·  The service run an education scheme and provide sessions with young people across different parks. Young people are also consulted with on what they would like to see across parks in Leeds. Approximately 30k children are reached.

·  Officers are reviewing comments received from members on a recent working group regarding the tree management plan and looking to review that policy. Members were also provided with clarity on the formation of a tree canopy.

·  Disabled residents being unable to access sites - a detailed audit is being undertaken on accessibility.

·  The service is keen to incorporate more relaxed mowing across sites, however, it is acknowledged that there are some sites where it is inappropriate and maintenance on those sites will continue. Officers welcome examples from members where relaxed mowing may be appropriate.

·  Provision for girls and older children in parks and greenspaces – there is on-going research and work with partners to determine what teenage girls are interested in. Design guides will also acknowledge the importance of considering the needs of girls and young teenagers.

·  Specific issues relating to toilet provisions can be picked up outside of the meeting.

RESOLVED ­– To:

a)  Note the contents of the report and its appendices, including the comments raised during discussion of this item.

b)  Endorse the Leeds Parks and Green Spaces Strategy and support the progress made at present.