Newham's first permanent Citizens' Assembly

Recommendations

Assembly Members proposed recommendations and subsequent actions covering seven themes.

Safety and Crime

In Newham we will have parks and green spaces which enable communities to connect together for the purpose of fun and engagement. The Council must commit to ensuring people feel safer in these spaces by using technology, projects and other resources to prevent and reduce crime.

Action 1: Re-introduce Park Rangers to engage in our parks

Action 2: Open days & activities in green spaces

Action 3: Programmes for young people and those who are vulnerable

Action 4: Technology, design & equipment

Action 5: Gathering, using & sharing data more effectively

Community Involvement in Parks

Newham Council should work collaboratively with large and small businesses, communities and individuals to fund and improve green spaces for local communities to enjoy.

Action 1: Conduct an audit

Action 2: Engage with local community groups

Action 3: Provide funding

Action 4: Create a Community Green Guide

Action 5: Provide incentives for greening unused spaces

Activities and Things To Do

Newham has activities and events in all of its green spaces, which are inclusive, community led, and Council enabled, where the community has good awareness of what it is on and with local incentives (such as a local currency) to reward people for taking part in and organising activities.

Action 1: Design a digital platform for activities

Action 2: Council guidance on activities

Action 3: Promoting informal activities

Action 4: Rewarding activities

Action 5: Community involvement

Protect and Increase Green Spaces

Newham Council will protect, maintain and increase well-designed, accessible, clean greenspaces through greater parkland protection, working with developers and local communities to ensure new greenspaces across the Borough.

Action 1: Newham Borough should ensure that new greenspaces are being created and protected, and that all greenspaces are accessible for all

Action 2: Greenspaces will be planned for throughout the Borough

Action 3: Residents should be involved in the consultation processes for new developments to incorporate green spaces

Action 4: Newham Council should work with developers to ensure they meet their development plan and place greenspaces at the centre of all new developments

Action 5: Newham Council will maintain greenspaces to a high standard, ensuring they stay clean and free of rubbish

Rewilding

Create more wild-grown areas, and protect and maintain existing one, to enable and increase biodiversity, increase access to nature and provide long term benefits to the residents of Newham.

Action 1: Leave pockets of wild areas in parks to let nature take its course and increase biodiversity

Action 2: Create more wild areas in unused common spaces and encourage people to do the same in the local areas around their homes

Action 3: raise awareness of importance of re-wilding and biodiversity by educating and involving local residents in activities

Action 4: Using planning conditions to create new green spaces and protect existing ones

Maintenance and Litter

As Newham residents, we want parks and green spaces that we are proud of, and we can shout about. To do this recommend:

a. Creating an interactive website dedicated to Parks and Green Spaces

b. Creative community engagement and education to improve social responsibility and positive behaviour change

c. Proper investment in the maintenance of parks

This will ensure that parks and green spaces will be attractive to residents and visitors, people feel welcome, and improve mental health and wellbeing.

Action 1: Create ‘Clean Green Newham’, a dedicated parks and green spaces platform

Action 2: Improve creative community business, education engagement

Action 3: Proper investment in the maintenance of parks

Action 4: Encourage more recycling in parks

Action 5: Explore more creative ways to encourage recycling

Facilities That Make Parks Comfortable

In order to make parks and green spaces more accessible, appealing and attractive to all ages, the Council must construct well-designed and sustainably built facilities, and keep people there with the assurances of safety provisions that are consistently offered across the borough.

Action 1: Safety

Action 2: Ecosystems

Action 3: Accessibility in our parks

Action 4: Community-led partnerships

Action 5: Recreational facilities

The Mayor and her Cabinet considered the recommendations made and provided a response

Response to the Citizens’ Assembly on Greening the Borough Park and Green Spaces

Action Plan

In concluding, the Mayor commended the report and thanked residents who had participated in the Citizens’ Assembly, the Democratic Society and the Sortation Society for assistance throughout the process.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Sustainable Transport highlighted the positive engagement that had been undertaken. He noted that the proposals of the Citizens’ Assembly were aligned to those of the Council and said he looked forward to further engagement to improve the green spaces in the borough.

The Cabinet Member for Housing Services highlighted that residents were keen to have more green spaces provided on housing estates and that this was particularly important for young people in the borough.