Amidst the challenges and competing priorities caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, it’s vital that our parks and green spaces and their positive impact on communities are not overlooked by government.
The Victorians realised the health benefits of parks in industrial urban areas like Manchester way back in the 1800s. Ever since, they have served local communities as freely available locations for socialising and exercising. These assets are particularly beneficial for those living in high-density housing.
The pandemic has brought parks' importance for both physical and mental health into sharp focus, with our city's parks seeing a 30 per cent increase in use. As restrictions limit what we can do and where we can go, more and more people have sought out local green spaces and are enjoying the connection with nature that they provide.
This is fantastic to see, but it comes at a time when councils across the country are set to lose as much as 87 per cent of income from external parks and green spaces due to COVID-19 forcing the closure of revenue generating facilities and attractions. In Manchester, the pandemic has led to a 20 per cent funding gap caused by the twin pressures of reduced incomes and increased costs.
While this figure is significant, it could have been higher if we hadn’t previously invested in our parks and innovative ways to encourage their use as part of a long-term strategy to improve the health and wellbeing of local citizens.
One example is how we’ve taken advantage of technology to deliver a compelling visitor experience that encourages individuals and families to regularly visit and engage with them in different ways.
Over the past four years we’ve worked with Sprytar, creators of the Love Exploring App, to harness augmented reality and bring a new dimension and level of variety to our parks in a cost-effective way.
The free mobile app includes a range of self-directed games and guided trails for families and community groups that don’t require significant expenditure on physical infrastructure and maintenance.
Its interactivity brings parks to life through heritage trails, dinosaur safaris, enchanted fairy walks and space expeditions. It also includes educational games, quizzes and information along guided routes. Users can discover trails lasting from 25 minutes to three hours and the app highlights wheelchair and pram friendly routes too.
Bringing together the physical and digital realms in this way has proved hugely popular. The app has seen a 500% surge in use during the COVID-19 pandemic, with parents and guardians looking for ways to entertain their children outdoors.
It’s also been invaluable for our parks teams, who can provide updates around community events and manage a booking system feature, to help ensure playgrounds and parks remain within current capacity guidelines.
Solutions which help to increase dwell time and footfall for facilities and local businesses could be used by BID teams on the high street too in the future, as towns and cities seek to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
We will need further financial support from government if we are to continue innovating within our invaluable parks and green spaces. The government has regularly called for people across the nation to make use of parks to boost their physical and mental wellbeing - and now is the time to invest in them.
Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE is executive member for skills, culture and leisure at Manchester City Council
