Plans have been outlined for £6million investment over the next three years to “modernise parks” in North West London, with the goal of getting nine sites awarded Green Flag accreditation. These funds will be used to make a number of improvements, including installing new playground equipment, upgrading footpaths, and renovating buildings.
Alongside the £6m investment in parks, which will be paid for using a mix of capital funds and grant funding that becomes available to “continually upgrade and improve park facilities”, Harrow Council has also outlined a five year plan of how it intends to manage all of the borough’s open spaces. The local authority has begun an eight-week consultation to ask residents to share their views on shaping the strategy, which ends on July 14.
The plans include the aim of making parks “cleaner and more welcoming” by installing more litter bins, encouraging wildlife, and providing better places for residents to enjoy. This includes boosting the number of Green Flag-awarded parks, with a target of achieving nine accreditations – which the council points out would be “the highest number in Harrow’s history”.
The borough is looking to maintain the six Green Flag parks it currently has, which can be found at Kenton Recreation Ground, Pinner Memorial Park, Headstone Manor Park, Canons Park, Harrow Recreation Ground, and Roxeth Recreation Ground. It is hoping its strategy will enable it to add a further three at Chandos Recreation Ground, Riverside Park, and West Harrow Recreation Ground.
Alongside parks, the strategy also includes amenity green spaces, nature reserves, sports fields, playgrounds, and any other open spaces that “contribute to the borough’s environment, community health, and well-being”. However, allotments, churchyards, verges, and roundabouts have been excluded as these are managed under different frameworks.
Harrow is home to over 1,100 hectares of green space but the council claim they are facing “several significant challenges”, such as from the pressures of urban development, increased footfall, and the impacts of climate change. The local authority suggests rising temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events, and the loss of biodiversity “threaten the integrity of these green spaces”.
The council’s Parks and Open Space Strategy document adds: “[…] as the borough’s population grows, so too does the need for more inclusive, accessible, and diverse open spaces that “cater to a wide range of recreational, social, and environmental needs.”
The strategy outlines the overall aims of managing green spaces in a way that helps the council achieve its target to be carbon neutral by 2030, providing safe and clean places for residents to exercise and relax, and getting more people involved in the design and care of the spaces.
Portfolio Holder for Community & Culture, Cllr Janet Mote, said: “Over 20 per cent of land in our borough is either a park or an open space, they are one of Harrow’s greatest assets – and we know how much they matter to our residents. This strategy sets out how we plan to improve and protect these spaces for everyone to enjoy.”
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
