from Sunday Herald, 06 February 2005
MOST of the fields and parks in Scotland’s urban areas are ugly, unsafe “green deserts” – and ministers have no overall strategy for improving them.
Widespread public dissatisfaction with the quality of the green spaces in towns and cities has been revealed by a national survey, commissioned by the government-funded umbrella body Greenspace Scotland.
More than 50% of those surveyed thought that the green spaces in their areas were unattractive, unsafe and poor places for children to play. In the most deprived areas the proportion rose to 60%.
Among the reasons given were the deterioration of facilities, vandalism and the presence of gangs of youths. “Lots of problems with drug use” was one comment. “I don’t feel safe to walk around” was another.
“This is a huge environmental problem. We have a lot of bland, boring spaces in our towns and cities that are basically just wasteland,” said Julie Procter, the chief officer of Greenspace Scotland.
“There has been a downward spiral of neglect, decline and underinvestment. Even in new developments, green spaces are often only planned as unimaginative after thoughts.”
She pointed out that in England there was a fully funded package of measures to improve green spaces, co-ordinated by the office of the deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. “But in Scotland we haven’t got that kind of joined-up thinking,” she told the Sunday Herald.
“Funding comes in dribs and drabs from a variety of different sources, and there is no strategic policy. The jam is spread too thinly.”
The First Minister, Jack McConnell, is due to give a speech about environmental policy at a meeting on Wednesday in the Scottish parliament to mark Scottish Environment Week. Procter urged him to live up to his earlier promises to promote “environmental justice” for Scotland’s deprived communities.
“Urban green spaces have not been seen as politically sexy, but they are absolutely vital to the regeneration of communities,” she said. “Ministers must act now to tackle the problem so that they can deliver on the rhetoric of environmental justice.”
Greenspace Scotland was set up by the government’s conservation agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, and launched in 2003. It is funded by the agency and with Lottery money, and works with local groups to revitalise fields, parks and derelict land in urban areas.
It commissioned the Edinburgh research company, Progressive Partnership, to interview 1035 people in towns and cities during December 2004. Only 46% of them thought that their local green spaces were “safe places for physical activity”.
Just 47% thought local parks were “good places for children to play” and only 48% thought they were attractive. In the most deprived areas, the proportion of people who were satisfied with their green spaces was markedly lower.
One area where residents are deeply unhappy is Coatshill and Thornhill in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire. They say that the large, damp field known as Carlowrie Park that surrounds the community centre is somewhat less than inspiring.
“We’re very dissatisfied with the park. It’s derelict. It’s just a green park and that’s it,” said Bill Pinkerton from the Tenants’ Association of Coatshill and Thornhill (Tact). “It’s basically a green desert.”
There is a small kick-park in the middle of the grass, but this has become a “drinking den” for teenagers when it gets dark, he said. The rest of the park is only used during the day by people walking their dogs.
After consulting local people, Tact has drawn up ambitious plans for revitalising the area. At an overall cost of £1.5 million, it says, the park could be transformed into an invaluable community resource including well-lit paths, a new children’s play area, wildlife zones, and flower and vegetable gardens.
But according to Pinkerton, who has lived in Blantyre for 31 years, progress on winning support for the plans has been painfully slow. “It’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.
The Scottish Executive defended itself by stressing that environmental concerns were at the heart of everything it did. “We’ve set a target to improve the local environment in the most deprived neighbourhoods,” said an Executive spokeswoman.
“We might not have a specific policy document on green spaces, but that certainly doesn’t mean we don’t care about them. We’re investing millions of pounds to deliver real improvements.”
This cash included £318m funding for community regeneration and £170m to improve living conditions for thousands of Scots. “We’re tackling the problem of vacant and derelict land, and further investment to clamp down on fly tipping and abandoned vehicles is in the pipeline,” the spokeswoman added.
“We are also reviewing planning guidance to ensure strong standards for open space in new developments. The fact that these examples cut across a number of port folios highlights our commitment to green spaces.”
The Executive has funded a series of community regeneration projects including those at Ardler Village, Dundee, Alness in the Black Isle and at Pollokshields in Glasgow. And it wants to encourage more.
But this is not regarded as sufficient by Greenspace Scotland. “Access to quality green space from our back door is an achievable aim – but as a cross-cutting issue, it too often falls between the gaps,” said Procter.
She added: “It is time to redress the decade of under-investment in parks and open spaces and turn around the post-industrial legacy of wasted spaces, which blight too many communities.”
