Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to (a) protect and (b) promote parks and green spaces within the London Borough of Havering.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given in response to Question UIN 2052 on 4 September 2024.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to extend the right to roam.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. That is why the last Labour Government expanded public access by introducing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provided the public a right of access to large areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. 2024 marks 75 years since the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, which secured public access and preserved natural beauty.
This Government will continue to increase access to nature for families to enjoy, boosting people’s mental and physical health and leaving a legacy for generations to come. We will create nine new National River Walks, plant three new National Forests and empower communities to create new parks and green spaces in their communities with a new Community Right to Buy. We will announce further details on our plans for improving access to nature in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure the protection of green spaces in the London Borough of Havering.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Havering is one of the greenest boroughs in London, this has been recognised through the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Awards Scheme, with 16 Havering sites being awarded Green Flag status. This Green Flag Award sets the national standard for parks and green spaces that are welcoming, safe, well-maintained and promote biodiversity and community participation.
The Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) allows communities to designate land as Local Green Space, in order to protect green areas that are important to them. Designating land as Local Green Space should be consistent with the local planning of sustainable development and complement investment in sufficient homes, jobs and other essential services. We are consulting on ‘golden rules’ in relation to grey and green belt release to ensure development benefits communities and nature.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to green spaces.
Answered by Jacob Young
National Planning Policy sets out that access to high quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and physical activity are important for the health and well-being of communities.
The Government is firmly committed to protecting and creating more parks and green spaces. Through the Levelling Up Parks Fund we have provided £9 million to create new or significantly refurbish existing green spaces.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many public parks and green spaces have been sold by local councils in each year since 2015 by (a) constituency and (b) region.
Answered by Jacob Young
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's timescales are for (a) publishing the tender documents for the licenses for the Green Flag awards and (b) awarding those licenses.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities owned Green Flag Awards Scheme, currently operated under licence by Keep Britain Tidy, sets the national standard for public green spaces and encourages local authorities and other public landowners to ensure parks and green spaces are welcoming, safe, well-maintained and promote biodiversity and community participation.
We will provide further updates about the licensing scheme shortly.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps through the National Planning Policy Framework to protect parks and green spaces.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that existing land for open space, sports and recreational buildings should not be built on unless an assessment deems them to be surplus to requirements, or the proposed development ensures equivalent or superior provision in a suitable alternate location.
The NPPF also allows local planning authorities and communities to designate and protect important green spaces by formally designating them as Local Green Space through local and neighbourhood plans, providing formal protection through the framework.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department issues to local authorities on how to (a) prevent and (b) dispose of fly-tipping in public (i) parks and (ii) green spaces.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Together we have produced various guides on tackling fly-tipping and the roles and responsibilities of local authorities and others.
More recently, we have been developing a fly-tipping toolkit with the NFTPG. So far, the group has published a guide on how councils and others can present robust cases to court and a new framework which sets out how they can set up and run effective local partnerships to prevent fly-tipping. These, and other materials, are available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.
In addition to this, Defra has provided £1.2 million in grant funding to help more than 30 councils implement projects aimed at tackling fly-tipping. Case studies from round one have been made available at the link above so other councils can learn about those interventions which were most successful. We intend to launch another grant opportunity for councils later this year.
Asked by: Earl Russell (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to make longer-term and consistent funding available to local authorities for park and playground provision, particularly smaller play spaces in more deprived areas.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23. This boost in funding demonstrates how Government stands behind councils up and down the country. The majority of the funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities. On top of this, the £9 million UK-wide Levelling Up Parks Fund has provided specific funding to deliver improved green spaces in communities with the lowest access and a further £30 million will be provided to overhaul 30 local parks in England with a focus on improving facilities for young families.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the preservation of green spaces within (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We committed in our Environmental Improvement Plan to work across government to help ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space.
The Government is delivering a number of policies to protect access to green spaces including in urban areas. Examples of these include:
In Enfield, Natural England is working with the Council in developing its local plan to create high quality places that tackle climate change, the nature emergency, inequalities, and promote health and well-being. This will also help Enfield to embed Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Standards into the plan and supporting documents.
In addition Enfield has been awarded £500,000 from the Landscape Recovery Scheme to support schemes to restore nature, reduce flood risks and boost biodiversity include creating hundreds of hectares of woodlands and grassland, wetlands and restore rivers and expanding the Enfield Chase Restoration Project. Natural England are also working with the London Borough of Enfield on a new Countryside Stewardship scheme.