Parks, amenity grasslands and city squares habitats statement

For the purposes of this statement parks, amenity grasslands and city squares are those areas of open space which are, by and large, publicly accessible or managed primarily for formal recreation. Formal parks, sports pitches, landscaped areas around institutions, and school playing fields are some examples. This audit excludes golf courses, as many of these will include habitats covered by woodland, grassland and heathland audits.

In this audit parks are defined as those amenity open spaces which are formal, managed landscapes consisting of extensive mown grassland, avenues of trees, copses, shrubberies, flower beds and formal water features. This category includes the larger city squares. Some parks may also support quite large areas of semi-natural habitat such as woodland. This audit does not include 'parkland' such as old deer parks, wood pasture or 'old' parks with many mature trees (e.g. Greenwich Park). These parkland areas are covered by audit HA2: Open Landscapes with Ancient/Old Trees.

There have not been any London-wide surveys of this resource and therefore there are no comprehensive figures for the extent of parks, playing fields, sports pitches and other amenity grassland.

An approximate figure is available for the amount of this habitat present in London as a whole. A sample of aerial photographs of Greater London which was analysed by the London Ecology Unit in 1992, suggested that 'parks' as defined by this audit comprise 8% (12,500ha) of London's total land area. 'Sports pitches' cover approximately 3% (4,700 ha) of the total land area, 'grounds of schools & other institutions' 1.5% (2,400 ha) and 'common green spaces around flats' a further 1.1 % (1,700 ha). Therefore, the total figure for the extent of parks and amenity grasslands in London is approximately 21,000 ha - 13% of Greater London's surface area.

The most significant threat to the biodiversity of formal parks, playing fields and amenity open space is unsympathetic management. Intensive management is required to maintain recreational areas, attractive flower beds, sports pitches and other amenity features. However, a more integrated approach to the management, which pays attention to the needs of wildlife and which regards the maintenance of biodiversity as a key management aim, could be introduced in many parks.

Even though the vast majority of playing fields, parks and other amenity open spaces are protected through open space policies in boroughs' Unitary Development Plans (UDPs) there has been a tendency in recent years to dispose of parts of playing fields (especially school playing fields) for development. In addition, there has been a trend of replacing grass sports pitches with artificial turf.

The extensive area of playing fields, formal parks and amenity open space provides enormous potential for habitat enhancement and habitat creation within the limits imposed by the needs of formal recreational and amenity areas. Many parks have been created on areas of open space that once supported semi-natural habitat and this habitat may still survive in certain areas. These relic features can provide the resource from which more extensive areas of grassland or woodland habitats can be restored or recreated. Where there are no remnants of former habitats, habitat creation techniques can be applied to make new habitats (such as ponds or wildflower meadows). Alternatively the existing park maintenance regime can be amended to allow greater structural diversity. Relaxing mowing regimes, cutting hedges less frequently or delaying the removal of accumulated leaf litter are some options.

Many formal parks and playing fields are an important part of open space corridors connecting extant areas of semi-natural habitat. Appreciation of the formal open spaces' context within a corridor can inform decisions about its management that in turn will enhance its value as a green corridor for wildlife.

A significant opportunity for awareness-raising arises as a result of the popularity of parks ands open spaces. A far greater number of people are likely to visit their local park or playing field than their local nature reserve. Providing information about the biodiversity of the local park is the first step in promoting a greater appreciation of biodiversity generally.