As the summer approaches, it is time to get outside and celebrate the amazing outdoor spaces in our borough.

Our parks and green spaces are among the many reasons that we all love our borough and that is why protecting and enhancing them is such an important part of my administration. We have put action to tackle climate change front and centre in our council plan. It is one of the 3 priorities that drives the council, and a key part of tackling climate change is ensuring green spaces are thriving and accessible to all residents.

New parks

Part of making green space more accessible is expanding the number of parks available in our borough. We are well on the way to delivering the 10 new parks we promised in 2022. We opened Pear Tree Park last year and I’m looking forward to all residents having a whole summer to enjoy this new green space.

People enjoying these spaces will notice the huge amount of tree planting that has been going on. Our drive to plant 50,000 new trees by next year is in full swing and is a vital part of increasing biodiversity, improving air quality and removing carbon.

Spaces for nature

We want our green spaces to be diverse living spaces full of people and wildlife. That is our vision for the new regional park that will span the whole borough. We want green spaces that are fully open to all our residents with spaces to meet and play. We fully believe that we can do this whilst providing spaces for nature.

Our parks also play a vital role in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Our sustainable urban drainage schemes as well as the beaver release project in Greenford are ways for us to use nature to improve our flood resilience. We know that one of the impacts of climate change will be more days of high rainfall. Using natural means like beaver dams and building seasonal swales in our parks will simultaneously help protect homes from flooding as well as adding new habitats for wildlife across the borough.

Everyone should get out and about for the summer to appreciate the amazing green spaces across our borough. They are part of what makes our borough special, and we have big plans to make them even better. I hope people appreciate all the progress we have already made in making them great places to meet, play and relax.