10 July 2015
From September 2015, the hosting and management of the Country
Parks Network will pass from Natural England to Keep Britain
Tidy.
The move follows a competitive process led by the Country Parks
Network steering group and Natural England.
Our aims and current work - including the Green Flag Awards for
parks and green spaces and the Love Parks programme - make us the
ideal organisation to take over the Network's management.
One of our three aims is to improve local places by increasing
the amount of well-managed, accessible public space and engaging
more communities in their management.
The Country Parks Network exists primarily to allow people who
manage, or are interested in, either country parks or other green
spaces that deliver similar functions to country parks, to connect
with each other.
We will be the first point of contact for the Country Parks
Network and lead the management of its membership, web pages, news
updates and good practice sharing. It will also host and support
the Network Steering Group, with Natural England retaining a seat
on the group.
Liz Newton from Natural England said: 'It is great news that the
Country Parks Network will continue to support managers of Country
Parks as it has for many years. This agreement is good news for
everyone and will strengthen the sharing of knowledge and good
practice amongst managers of these important green spaces. We hope
the Network continues to grow and flourish.'
Keep Britain Tidy's Green Flag Awards manager Paul Todd said:
'We are delighted to be managing the Country Parks Network. Our
wealth of experience in supporting others to improve their local
places makes this new relationship an ideal fit.
'Our experience includes our Green Flag Award, Blue Flag Award,
Seaside Award, Love Parks programme and the Keep Britain Tidy
Network, which supports local authorities and land managers across
England. We welcome the Country Parks Network to the Keep Britain
Tidy family.'
Kevin Burke on behalf of the Country Parks Network Steering
Group said: "We are delighted that, following a long and exhaustive
process, the future of the Country Parks Network has been
secured.
'We were particularly reassured by Keep Britain Tidy's
enthusiasm to work with us and we now foresee vast potential as we
become part of their extended family. We hope that anyone involved
with Country Parks will sign up to the Network and join us to
benefit from our collective knowledge and experience so that our
Country Parks will continue to thrive in the years ahead.'
The move will begin during August 2015. Existing members will be
contacted by Natural England over the coming weeks with further
information.