About the Parks Management Association
Our Vision
“Representing professionals working in public parks and green spaces”
There are 398 principal (unitary, upper and second tier) councils in the UK – 24 county councils, 181 district councils, 36 metropolitan councils, and 124 unitary councils. There are around 11,000 local councils in the UK, from town councils to parish councils. These councils, along with a number of trusts, charities and other organisations, manage between them 27,000 public parks across the country and employ a significant number of professionals to manage and maintain them within such service areas including streetcare, waste services, leisure services, community services, neighbourhood services and cultural services. It is now a rarity to find an authority that retains its distinct ‘parks service’ as it has most likely to have been absorbed into a wider departmental structure. Yet public perception is very different, and many still perceive that ‘parks departments’ still exist.
“Can I speak to someone in the park department please?”
However, over the last 20+ years, there has been a significant reduction in the number of professionals dedicated to the management of parks and green spaces with headlines such as ‘last of a dying breed’ and media coverage not only in the trade press but also in mainstream media (The Guardian and the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, BBC Radio). Like many public services, austerity has hit us hard and soft services such as parks have and continue to be hit severely with parks and green spaces management professionals often becoming marginalized and in many authorities, redundancies have occurred with significant posts lost.
Up to this period of austerity, a number of organisations had represented parks and green spaces professionals including:
- ILAM (Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management) which became ISPAL and ultimately CIMSPA, neither of the latter organisations representing parks professionals; ILAM had a dedicated parks team with officers advocating policy and recommendations for the wider management of parks.
- The Urban Parks Forum, becoming GreenSpace which folded a number of years ago
- CABE Space, which was a government funded quango responsible for championing urban parks and professionals, but was disbanded and became part of the Design Council, no longer representing parks professionals.
Since the disappearance of these reputable organisations, no single body has represented the body of individuals who continue to manage our urban parks and green spaces and the sector has become fragmented. As part of the recent public inquiry into public parks in 2017, one of the key issues raised was the lack of a professional body to represent parks and green spaces management professionals. With the end of the last period of austerity and continued importance given to public parks, it is now an important period to look at representing those still managing parks and green spaces as well as those that have inherited the management of these, with little or no sector support. This has recently become increasingly significant with the current Covid-19 pandemic where parks and green spaces have had greater coverage and awareness raised of their wider importance to our communities.
The Current Position (2021)
With no single professional body representation and the gap in the sector, a number of other bodies do exist but have fragmented links to parks practitioners and the sector, and they have carried the flag for parks. This has meant that decision makers and policy makers have had inconsistent links to the sector that actually delivers, and has done for decades. The Parks Management Association, through an independent board of practitioners, can strengthen that link not only by strongly representing the sector but most importantly by acting as a sound board for ideas and policy implementation as well as proposing solutions and share best practice that can cross fertilise the work amongst the organisation.
The Parks Management Association will work and support all the Regional Parks Forums and organisations such as the Landscape Institute, APSE, Parks Action Group, The Parks Alliance, The Gardens Trust, The National Trust, Heritage Fund, Chief Leisure Officers Association, Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Fields in Trust, Keep Britain Tidy, CPRE and forge stronger links with Scotland, Wales and any other national and international organisations that have in common, the passion and values that underpins our work in valuing our parks and open spaces.
So what are the next steps?
On 28th May, 2020, the interim board met for the first time and was made up of representatives from City of Cardiff, LB Hounslow, LB Ealing, Watford Borough Council, Bury Council, Wirral Council, Manchester City Council, Sheffield City Council, Arun and Worthing District Councils, Urban Green Newcastle, North Tyneside Council, Rugby Borough Council, Nottingham City Council, Salford City Council, Birmingham City Council, Walsall Council, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Green Estate Sheffield, and Community First Partnership. This board aims to meet 6 times a year.
The next stage will be to begin to work with the regional forums and all the relevant organisations that can help us to strengthen this single voice for the sector – the establishment of a Parks Collective. We have already contacted the Parks Leaders Forum in New Zealand who have been set up for over 8 years. Their advice was to establish the ‘critical mass’ and develop the ‘network’. This will include individuals who work in the parks sector (and it does not matter at what level) to the organisations who have similar interests in our work. This is crucial and will strengthen our voice and role within the sector. This will be the main focus of our work in the next few months. We will keep you updated.
The meeting on the 10th June, 2020 discussed the following:
- Adopt the Terms of Reference – ADOPTED
- Agree a statement on the value of parks to be released – AGREED
- Decide on the structure of the interim board – AGREED
- Discuss who we need to collaborate with as a priority – AGREED
Paul Rabbitts
Head of Parks and Open Spaces, Southend on Sea City Council, Chairperson
Name:Paul Rabbitts
Current Job Title:Head of Parks and Open Spaces, Southend on Sea City Council, Chairperson
Organisation:Southend on Sea City Council
Years in Public Parks:31
Years in the Sector:33
Qualifications:BA Honours (Geography); Masters in Landscape Architecture
Post nominals:FRSA
Memberships:Landscape Institute, CLOA, Royal Society of Arts, Royal Historical Society, Green Flag and International Green Flag Judge, Chair of the Parks Management Association
Ian Baggott
Managing Director, Community First Partnership, Vice chairperson
Name:Ian Baggott
Current Job Title:Managing Director, Community First Partnership, Vice chairperson
Organisation:Community First Partnership
Years in Public Parks:29
Years in the Sector:36
Qualifications:RFS Cert Arb; BSc Hons, MSc
Memberships:Landscape Institute, Royal Society of Arts, Midlands Parks Forum
Eddie Curry
Head of Public Realm, Nottingham City Council, Vice Chairperson
Name:Eddie Curry
Current Job Title:Head of Public Realm, Nottingham City Council, Vice Chairperson
Organisation:Nottingham City Council
Years in Public Parks:25
Years in the Sector:33
Qualifications:OND Landscape Practice HND Horticulture (Amenity and Landscape Provision and Management) MBA Strategic Management
Memberships:Landscape Institute, International and National Green Flag Judge, Chair of the Core Cities Parks and Green Space Group
Stefania Horne
Superintendent of Hampstead Heath and North London Open Spaces, Vice Chairperson
Name:Stefania Horne
Current Job Title:Superintendent of Hampstead Heath and North London Open Spaces, Vice Chairperson
Organisation:City of London
Years in Public Parks:21
Years in the Sector:27
Qualifications:Italian Doctoral degree and MSc (Bangor)
Memberships:Executive Member of CLOA
Chris Worman MBE
Parks and Green Space Manager, South Derbyshire District Council, Vice Chairperson
Name:Chris Worman MBE
Current Job Title:Parks and Green Space Manager, South Derbyshire District Council, Vice Chairperson
Organisation:South Derbyshire District Council
Years in Public Parks:38
Years in the Sector:38
Qualifications:Post Graduate Cert Management Studies
Memberships:National and International Green Flag Judge, Parks Advisory Group
Philippa Reece
Parks and Foreshore Manager, Adur and Worthing Council, Vice Chairperson
Name:Philippa Reece
Current Job Title:Parks and Foreshore Manager, Adur and Worthing Council, Vice Chairperson
Organisation:Adur and Worthing Councils
Years in Public Parks:15
Years in the Sector:21
Qualifications:BA (Honours), Environmental Management
Memberships:National and International Green Flag Judge
Jane Conway
Operations Manager - Parks Service, Luton Borough Council, Vice Chairperson
Name:Jane Conway
Current Job Title:Operations Manager - Parks Service, Luton Borough Council, Vice Chairperson
Organisation:Luton Borough Council
Years in Public Parks:38
Years in the Sector:38
Qualifications:DMS, Institute of Management
Memberships:National and International Green Flag Judge
Mike Harris
Outdoor Leisure Manager, Tonbridge and Malling, Leisure Services (Outdoors)
Name:Mike Harris
Current Job Title:Outdoor Leisure Manager, Tonbridge and Malling, Leisure Services (Outdoors)
Organisation:Tonbridge and Malling Council
Years in Public Parks:25
Years in the Sector:25
Qualifications:BSc Adventure Recreation
Michael Rowland
Head of Park Operations, The Royal Parks
Name:Michael Rowland
Current Job Title:Head of Park Operations, The Royal Parks
Organisation:The Royal Parks
Years in Public Parks:18
Years in the Sector:27
Qualifications:BSC Hons Biology Post Grad Diploma in Conservation Advanced Diploma in Management
Memberships:National Green Flag Judge
Andy Lee
Parks Manager, Rotherham Council
Name:Andy Lee
Current Job Title:Parks Manager, Rotherham Council
Organisation:Rotherham MBC
David Lambert
Director, The Parks Agency
Name:David Lambert
Current Job Title:Director, The Parks Agency
Organisation:The Parks Agency
Years in Public Parks:30
Years in the Sector:36
Qualifications:MA
Memberships:Royal Society of Arts, Gardens Trust
Jonathan Maidment
Head of Parks and Harbour Authority, City of Cardiff
Name:Jonathan Maidment
Current Job Title:Head of Parks and Harbour Authority, City of Cardiff
Organisation:City of Cardiff
Years in Public Parks:34
Years in the Sector:36
Qualifications:M.Hort, PG Cert (Management Studies) PG Cert (Sustainable Leadership)
Memberships:Chair of GreenSpace Wales
Darren Share MBE
Assistant Director, Streetscene, Birmingham City Council
Name:Darren Share MBE
Current Job Title:Assistant Director, Streetscene, Birmingham City Council
Organisation:Birmingham City Council
Years in Public Parks:34
Years in the Sector:37
Qualifications:MBA, Cert Arb (theory) WAMITAB Level 4
Memberships:National Britain In Bloom Judge since 2014 and National Chair; National In Bloom Federation and RHS Community Outreach Advisory Group. Trustee for the Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Liz Stuffins
Public Health Development Manager, Walsall Council
Name:Liz Stuffins
Current Job Title:Public Health Development Manager, Walsall Council
Organisation:Walsall Council
Years in Public Parks:34
Years in the Sector:36
Qualifications:BSc (Hons) MSc
Memberships:Landscape Institute, Chair of the Midlands Parks Forum
Annie Surtees
Parks and Streetscene Manager, Salford City Council
Name:Annie Surtees
Current Job Title:Parks and Streetscene Manager, Salford City Council
Organisation:Salford City Council
Years in Public Parks:28
Years in the Sector:33
Qualifications:BSc(Hons), MSc
Memberships:National Green Flag Judge
Stuart Turner
Service Manager Green & Open Spaces, Sheffield City Council
Name:Stuart Turner
Current Job Title:Service Manager Green & Open Spaces, Sheffield City Council
Organisation:Sheffield City Council
Years in Public Parks:19
Years in the Sector:27
Qualifications:BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA Certificate in Ecology & Conservation
Memberships:National Green Flag Judge
Kylie Ward
Parks Lead, Manchester City Council
Name:Kylie Ward
Current Job Title:Parks Lead, Manchester City Council
Organisation:Manchester City Council
Years in Public Parks:22
Years in the Sector:22
Qualifications:BA (Hons) Business Management and Sport
Chris Welsh
Parks Manager, LB Ealing
Name:Chris Welsh
Current Job Title:Parks Manager, LB Ealing
Organisation:LB Ealing
Years in Public Parks:17
Years in the Sector:25
Qualifications:BLA
Memberships:London Benchmarking Group
Laurence Gale
Editor of TurfPro
Name:Laurence Gale
Current Job Title:Editor of TurfPro
Organisation:TurfPro
James Jones-McFarland
Parks Manager, Arun Council
Name:James Jones-McFarland
Current Job Title:Parks Manager, Arun Council
Organisation:Arun Council
Yvonne Kelleher
Parks Service Manager, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils
Name:Yvonne Kelleher
Current Job Title:Parks Service Manager, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils
Organisation:Richmond and Wandsworth Councils
Paul O'Brien
Chief Executive APSE
Name:Paul O'Brien
Current Job Title:Chief Executive APSE
Organisation:APSE
Stephen Daye
Parks and Cemeteries Officer, Ards and North Down District Council
Name:Stephen Daye
Current Job Title:Parks and Cemeteries Officer, Ards and North Down District Council
Organisation:Ards and North Down District Council, Northern Ireland
Lucy Prisk
Green Flag Co-ordinator, Green Flag Wales
Name:Lucy Prisk
Current Job Title:Green Flag Co-ordinator, Green Flag Wales
Organisation:Green Flag Wales
Bernard Sheridan
Director - Bernard Sheridan Consultancy
Name:Bernard Sheridan
Current Job Title:Director - Bernard Sheridan Consultancy
Organisation:Bernard Sheridan Consultancy / South Derbyshire Council
Years in the Sector:33
Qualifications:Chartered Horticulturist; Master of Horticulture (RHS); National Diploma in the Science and Practice of Sportsground Management (IOG)
Memberships:Chartered Institute of Horticulture
Matt Kelly
Service Manager - Parks and Streetscene, Wigan Council
Name:Matt Kelly
Current Job Title:Service Manager - Parks and Streetscene, Wigan Council
Organisation:Wigan Council
Memberships:Green Flag Judge, the former Chair of the Lancashire Parks group and a former Member of the Greenspace North West steering group.
David Winslow
Community Parks Officer, Derby City Council
Name:David Winslow
Current Job Title:Community Parks Officer, Derby City Council
Organisation:Derby City Council
Simon O'Dell, Landscape Futures CIC
Director
Name:Simon O'Dell, Landscape Futures CIC
Current Job Title:Director
Organisation:Landscape Futures CIC
Steven Skinner, St Austell Town Council
Operations Manager
Name:Steven Skinner, St Austell Town Council
Current Job Title:Operations Manager
Organisation:St Austell Town Council