Agenda item
Covid 19 Update- Parks and Open Spaces
A presentation to be made at the meeting.
Minutes:
The Sub-Committee received a verbal update on the impact of Covid-19 on Parks and Open Spaces.
Councillor Asma Begum, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Children, Youth Services and Education introduced the item before handing over to Ms Alice Bigelow, Head of Parks.
The Sub-Committee heard from Ms Alice Bigelow, Head of Parks, Mr Dave Hime, Manager of Victoria Park, Mr Sean Thomas-Stewart, Park Ranger at Victoria Park and Mr Paul Sammut, Parks Development Officer.
The main points made by Ms Bigelow were:
- The Parks Service had experienced an incredibly intense period over the past 18 months. Normal activity ceased abruptly at the beginning of the pandemic, with the need to patrol and monitor parks increasing exponentially, with more people using open spaces during the lockdowns.
- Ms Bigelow said the way in which the service operates had changed completely, with less focus on activities and interaction with the community and more focus on keeping the 120 parks in Tower Hamlets open and safe for the local community and visitors.
- She said the teams based in Victoria Park and Mile End Park had worked extremely hard to ensure the parks remained open during the height of the pandemic.
- One of the biggest challenges faced was in relation to staffing, with some staff members having to shield, during the pandemic. To cope with the shortfall in staff, re-deployed staff and volunteers were used to manage the parks effectively.
- Spring/Summer 2020 saw the biggest number of volunteers which was an enormous benefit although in some cases it was a challenge to integrate them within the team. Experienced staff were required to patrol with the volunteers, especially those that were interested in patrolling their neighbourhoods.
- One of the positives from the volunteering has been the number of people who are still volunteering with the Parks Team.
The main points made by Mr Hime were:
- Victoria Park initially closed for a period of 17 days at the time of the first lockdown. This generated an unprecedented amount of complaints, with many people unhappy that the decision was taken to close the park. A similar number of complaints were received when the Park was re-opened, with people questioning why it was opened. Due to the volume of complaints received it was necessary to refer them to the complaints team to handle.
- Ms Bigelow added that following government guidance, outdoor gyms and playgrounds were closed off. However, some members of the public were deliberately tampering with the barricades using bolt cutters and angle grinders. She said this resulted in further complaints which the Parks Team had to contend with.
- Mr Hime said in his forty-three-year career, 2020 could be classified as the most stressful year. He said Park Rangers do not have enforcement powers and whilst they respectfully asked people to move on or told them they could not sit on park benches or have picnics in large groups this caused arguments and flashpoints including assaults and violence.
- He said Victoria Park was 40% busier than in previous years and all the staff from management, to gardeners and park rangers had stepped up to ensure the park was open and welcoming for visitors.
- Mr Hime added litter and access to public toilets were also challenges faced by his team. He said volunteers had greatly helped with the management of litter, with the timely disposal and emptying of bins as well as the public toilets.
- He said due to the Covid-19 restrictions, toilets in buildings were closed off and the ones which were available had to be supervised. Mr Hime said he had put in a bid for an upgrade of the toilets in Victoria Park and was hopeful this would help improve the current facilities available.
Mr Thomas-Stewart added:
· Volunteers and redeployees had made a difference to keeping the parks open however the amount of complaints and difficult interactions with visitors did impact of Park Rangers significantly.
The main points made by Mr Paul Sammut were:
· During the pandemic, part of Mr Sammut’s role was to check on equipment in playgrounds and parks and ensure it was secure, especially when incidences of vandalism were occurring.
· The capital programme consists of several strands with a programme of improvement of playground equipment and the redevelopment of parks and open spaces. Weavers Fields has a new playground which is 100% inclusive. Mile End Park is being redeveloped with a bigger playground, which should be finished by November 2021.
· Further projects consist of improvements to Millwall Park and Mudchute Park and Farm as well as improved signage for King Edward Memorial Park.
In response to questions from members the following was noted:
- The vandalism was reported to the Police. The Parks team have worked with the Police, the Anti-Social Behaviour team and the THEO team to talk about the issues however it’s not an easy task, catching someone in the act. The vandalism happened in the middle of the night and stopped when the government allowed for gym and playgrounds to reopen.
- In relation to toilets in parks, Ms Bigelow said these were a source of anti-social behaviour if not staffed by the Council. She said very few parks had toilets however as part of the capital programme, where there are changing room facilities, toilets were being upgraded so that people with disabilities were able to use the facility via a radar key. She said unless there was money to pay staff to supervise toilets, the capital programme could not fix this issue alone, which is London-wide issue.
- Mr Hime stated that during the first lockdown, none of the toilets were open as the park had limited opening times of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. As the restrictions eased, toilets within Victoria Park were opened but not every cubicle, so to ensure the safety for everyone. He said twenty-one toilets were useable, but these were very few to cope with the demand. He said that part of the capital programme was to introduce self-contained toilets, which would be pandemic friendly.
- In response to what data is available regarding who uses the parks and how needs are identified, Ms Bigelow said they did not systematically collect such data. The data they did have was in relation to consultations carried out on park improvements and the profile of people who had responded. Ms Bigelow said more research was required as this would be a useful exercise for the Council to commission, but it was costly and time consuming.
- Dr Rice queried if there was a London-wide forum to make collective representations about parks in London. Ms Bigelow said there was a London-wide Park Mangers forum and other park associations where experiences can be shared.
- Mr Hime said electric scooters were new contraptions that had become popular during the pandemic and were causing issues within parks. He said there was no bye law regarding the speed at which they are ridden. He said the borough was also taking part in a government run pilot for e-scooters. He said with no enforcement powers Park Rangers can only ask people to slow down. He said this was also an issue with speeding cyclists too.
- ACTION: Mr Hime to investigate how the bye laws can be strengthened to include the use of e-scooters and drones in parks.
- In response to if Poplar HARCA had taken an active role in the upkeep of Bartlet Park, Ms Bigelow said that whilst this was the hope under the S106 agreement, Poplar HARCA would need some pushing to share the cost of the upkeep of the park.
The Chair thanked the attendees for their contribution to the meeting and said their input had been invaluable, in helping the members understand the work of the Parks team and the challenges faced during the pandemic.
The Chair summarised the main points of the discussion as follows:
- Systematic data collection on who is using parks would be useful, especially relating to young people, age groups and how they can be made welcoming for those who do not currently use them.
- To understand how far people are travelling to use Tower Hamlets parks.
- To look at the use of e-scooters in parks by making it more explicit in the bye laws on how they are used, perhaps with improved signage in parks.
- Prioritising toilets of children, especially those with disabilities.
- To ensure commitments made by a third-party as part of their planning application are followed through and any undertaken given is adhered to.
6. The provision of water fountains across as many parks as possible.