Councils asked to bid for £85k to build new parks

Eighty five councils have been picked by the government to apply for money to create or “significantly revamp” a green space in an urban area.The 85, chosen because they have areas with high deprivation and with poor provision of parks, were announced yesterday by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.They can now “opt in” to the £9m Levelling Up Parks Fund and submit their ideas. If accepted, the councils would receive £85,000 each.If a council opts out, the next eligible place on the list will take its place.The £9m fund was announced alongside a £30m Parks Fund to deliver up to £1m to at least 30 local parks in England for refurbishment. with an emphasis on facilities for young families.But there is as yet no news on the Parks Fund, with a DLUHC spokesman saying only that an announcement would be “made in due course”.Commenting on the £9m fund, Levelling Up minister Greg Clark said: “Parks and urban green spaces have been the lifeblood of our cities, towns, and villages for centuries, providing sanctuary from urban life and spaces for communities to come together.”The past few years have only reiterated the importance of being able to access the outdoors and be in green space to look after our mental and physical wellbeing.”As part of this government’s mission to level up people’s pride in the places they love, the £9 million Levelling Up Parks Fund will improve both the equality of access and quality of green space in over 100 neighbourhoods across the UK.”He said the fund was “designed differently”, with a competitive bidding process set aside in favour of advance identification of the neediest areas.The money is split between: up to £47,000 capital for creation or improvement of the park; up to £18,500 revenue for project preparation, creation and maintenance; up to £19,000 for tree planting and related costs.The levelling up white paper earlier this year criticised the “patchwork of fragmented funds” and pledged to set out a plan for streamlining the funding landscape this year. But there is no evidence yet of the government reducing the number of small pots councils are expected to bid into.