Communities and Local Government

Communities and Local Government’s vision is of prosperous and cohesive communities, offering a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for all. Our role is to build the capacity of communities to shape and protect their own future.

Government recognises that good quality public space including parks and green spaces have an essential role to play in building sustainable communities, and enhancing people’s quality of life in towns and cities.

CLG has responsibility for urban parks and public spaces, as well as leading cross-Government work on ‘Cleaner, Safer, Greener Communities’ and the ‘How To Programme’.

CLG has a new Public Service Agreement Target (PSA 8) on Liveability to ‘Lead the delivery of cleaner, safer, greener public spaces and improving the quality of the built environment in deprived areas and across the country, with measurable improvements by 2008’.

The target reflects the government wide commitment to improve the quality of public spaces through the Cleaner, Safer, Greener Communities programme.

The PSA will strengthen CLG’s leadership role across Government to ensure delivery on the ground and noticeable improvement by 2008 in deprived areas and across the country. The indicators of success against which the target will be measured are:

• Less litter and detritus
• Fewer abandoned vehicles
• More Green Flag Award winning green spaces
• Tackling poor performance on environmental services
• Tackling poor quality local environments around housing
• Improving satisfaction with parks and open spaces
• Improving satisfaction with the neighbourhoods in which we live
• The Green Flag Award target is for 60% of local authority areas nationally, and 60% of local authority areas in receipt of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding to have achieved at least one Green Flag Award by 2008

For more information please visit http://www.communities.gov.uk or http://www.cleanersafergreener.gov.uk

Natural England

The Countryside Agency has now changed to form a single new body - Natural England - that will integrate the Landscape, Access and Recreation division of the Countryside Agency with English Nature and most of Defra’s Rural Development Service (RDS). Natural England will work for people, places and nature, with responsibility for enhancing biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas; promoting access, recreation and public well-being, and contributing to the way natural resources are managed - so that they can be enjoyed now and by future generations.

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk