MPs Urge Support for Local Friends Groups
Ruth Cadbury and Seema Malhotra praise volunteers for contribution to parks
Photo; Ruth Cadbury MP, Seema Malhotra MP, volunteers from Green Flag Parks; Boston Manor, Beaversfield Park and Dukes Meadows and Harjinder Singh from the Hounslow Gurdwara
Seema Malhotra and Ruth Cadbury attended a celebration of the Boroughs Parks Friends Groups this month at the Hounslow Gurdwara.
10 Friends groups were represented at the event including the Friends of Dukes Meadows and the MPs thanked them for the impressive amount of work they completed and the volunteering opportunities they made available to the local community. They both urged the council and Friends groups to support and work positively together. The Friends groups are creating a set of pledges to protect and enhance our local parks that they will asking candidates in next year’s local elections to endorse and seek to have included in their party’s manifestos.
A recent survey completed by 14 Friends groups revealed that in the last 10 years they had between them raised £1,945,370 of funding and each year had completed over 5,300 hours of work in their parks.
In a challenging funding environment, Friends groups not only bring additional resources to keep parks looking good, they also add a community involvement that makes their parks welcoming and gives them a sense of local ownership. In addition to raising funds and volunteering, the Friends groups who responded to the survey also organise free events and festivals, obtained village green, asset of community value status and other protections for their parks and secured awards such as London In Bloom “it’s your neighbourhood” and helped achieve Green Flag status for many parks.
The pledges are in line with Hounslow's Leisure and Culture Strategy for 2016 - 2020 which recommends, with regard to parks; "Get communities more involved - promote usage, community involvement and participation in parks and where appropriate, explore and formalise how residents and stakeholders can actively participate in the maintenance and development of these spaces. Shape spaces to support physical activity making use of our parks and open spaces and provide targeted services and events for the least active people."
The Forum thanked the Gudwara for their very kind hospitality in supporting this diverse community event. To contact the Park Friends Forum email; hounslowfriendsforum@gmail.com.
October 15, 2017