Green space charity Fields in Trust Scotland is calling on candidates in May’s Parliamentary elections to recognise the importance of our local parks and green spaces and sign a pledge committing to protect them from development if elected.
The Parks Protector Pledge contains six key points which set out how elected policymakers can work to protect, support and champion green spaces for good, both locally and nationally. Candidates standing for election to the Scottish Parliament are invited to make a public commitment to the Pledge.
Following a year in which we have valued our local parks more than ever before, the Fields in Trust charity is calling on candidates to demonstrate support for green spaces by joining 40 members of the Westminster Parliament, representing five different parties, who signed the Parks Protector Pledge at the 2019 General Election.
Fields in Trust is also encouraging electors to ask their candidates how they will support local parks and green spaces if elected.
Fields in Trust is an independent, UK-wide charity which has been legally protecting parks and green spaces since 1925 and currently protects 297 spaces covering nearly 2,300 hectares in Scotland. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh served as President of the charity for 64 years.
Chair of Fields in Trust Scotland, Brian Samson said: “Parks and green spaces have been vital lifelines for communities across Scotland over the last twelve months; they will continue to be an essential element of our pandemic recovery.
“Yet 2.7 million people across Britain, including 318,355 people in Scotland, already live more than a ten-minute walk from a public park and this is set to increase in the next five years.
“MSP’s can play a significant role in delivering the health, wellbeing, environmental and community benefits that parks and green spaces provide, by ensuring they are protected for future generations to enjoy”.
Fields in Trust has published original research demonstrating parks and green spaces contribute to community health and wellbeing and can address multiple policy challenges, including health improvement; tackling loneliness; addressing childhood obesity; benefitting the environment and delivering volunteer opportunities.
Protecting these public assets is not something that is politically contested and by building cross-party support in championing the value of local parks, future legislative reform can protect local green spaces that matter to constituents.
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