Haringey Council praised for improving borough's parks

A charity report comparing the parks services of London boroughs placed Haringey sixth, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Bruce Park and (inset) cabinet member Emily Arkell

Haringey Council has made “significant progress” in its parks services, according to a charity’s new report.

In the latest Good Parks for London report, a biennial report produced by the charity Parks for London, Haringey came sixth out of the 25 London boroughs participating.

The report celebrates the work borough councils are doing to manage, maintain, and develop London’s parks and green spaces.

The 25 participating boroughs were scored on ten different criteria including public satisfaction, collaboration, events, and community involvement.

Of these, five had a “significantly improved score” compared to the last assessment, including Haringey which made progress in six of the ten criteria.

A spokesperson from Parks for London said: “It is encouraging to see the significant progress Haringey’s parks service has made since the 2022 assessment, achieving improvements in six of the ten Good Parks criteria and excelling in collaboration, events, community involvement, and strategic planning.

“Their exemplary work in shaping their 15-year parks and green spaces strategy through extensive consultation with friends of parks groups, local forums, schools, and user groups has even been highlighted as a case study in this year’s report.”

Haringey outperformed many neighbouring boroughs in the report, including Camden which placed 21st, Barnet which came 23rd, and Enfield which was 25th. Lewisham finished first, followed by Hackney, and Lambeth.

Emily Arkell, cabinet member for culture and leisure, said: “This ranking is a fantastic achievement for our parks and leisure teams, friends groups and stakeholders.

“The fact Haringey’s parks and green open spaces are consistently rated so highly among London boroughs and were acknowledged as a ‘top improver’ in the 2024 Good Parks for London assessment is a testament to all their hard work and determination in maintaining them to best-in-class standards.

“We’ve co-produced our long-term strategy with residents, stakeholders and the wider Haringey community and will continue to work closely with them as we strive to make our parks even more accessible and welcoming.”

The news comes despite eleven Haringey parks losing their Green Flag status this year after the council decided not to submit them amid unprecedented financial challenges.

There has also been significant criticism from the Friends of Finsbury Park group over the park’s use for major festivals in summer. But in the Good Parks for London report, Haringey’s performance relating to events and community involvement was praised, placing it in the top ten of the boroughs assessed.

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