Friends Groups Encouraged by Council's Commitment to Parks


Meeting held with new lead member for Parks Salman Shaheen

A tree by a waterbank under threat in a local park
A tree by a waterbank under threat in a local park

A consortium of five voluntary groups working to protect and improve local parks in the boroughs has said it is encouraged by the new council administration’s commitment to the sector.

Representatives from groups caring for Boston Manor Park, Dukes Meadows, Northcote Nature Reserve, Silverhall Gardens and St John’s Gardens sought a meeting with the new Cabinet Member for Parking, Parks and Leisure, Councillor Salman Shaheen.

Encouraged by the new leadership’s commitment to engage and listen, the groups were keen to find out how this could improve the way the council works with park friends and community groups.

Vanessa Smith, of Northcote Nature Reserve said, “Although the relationship with Friends groups in some parks is good, in others it has broken down to the extent that groups are considering quitting. This would be tragic, for people walking away from parks they have spent years working on, but also for the loss of knowledge, experience and commitment Friends groups bring”

She a went on to say that they were very encouraged by the openness of Councillor Shaheen and Wayne Stephenson, Assistant Director for Environmental Services and Culture. She felt they were listening and genuinely keen to work with the Friends groups and the community and recognised the valuable knowledge and experience Friends groups bring.

A new play area in Dukes Meadows
A new play area in Dukes Meadows

Parks management in Hounslow has gone through many incarnations over the years transferring from one contractor to another, but with the same challenges remaining. The five groups say they hope that this first meeting is the start of a process to address long standing issues and release the potential of Friends Groups and dedicated parks staff.

This year a total of 21 of the borough’s parks have earned the prestigious Green Flag following inspections from judges. The annual awards are presented by the Tidy Britain Group in recognition of well-managed parks and green spaces.

In its latest corporate plan, Ambitious for Hounslow, the authority has made a commitment to invest £5m in the borough’s parks.

Cllr Shaheen said, "This fantastic result for Hounslow once again shows that we have some of the very best parks in London and proves just how committed we are to making the most of our borough’s open spaces.”
“It is clear that during the Covid-19 pandemic many people discovered our parks for the first time as havens to enjoy the open air, exercise and look after their mental and physical health. We want our parks and open spaces to continue to play this vital role in our borough as we continue to create a greener Hounslow.

“Achieving this high standard for our parks is a team effort. Our parks team and our partners have worked alongside our community groups and those residents who feel so passionately about these green spaces. We are keen to forge a closer relationship with the Friends Groups across our Borough whose passion and expertise are instrumental to the success of our parks. These Green Flag results are a testament to everyone’s hard work. We would like to thank all our partners for their efforts.”

The importance of this issue is felt to have increased with more of Hounslow’s growing population living in more dense and smaller accommodation with no access to gardens including families with children.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.


July 29, 2022