A park with lots of trees next to a footpath. It's shaded from the sun by the tree canopy.

Parks and green spaces are often some of the most valued places in local areas, and can be many people’s main or only experience of the natural world. They tend to be owned and run by local authorities, many of whom are under pressure to make savings in parks budgets.

But increasingly, local authorities are working with community organisations to see if new models of managing these spaces can be developed, creating both efficiencies and added value services and activities as a result.

This guide has been produced as part of the Community Ownership and Management of Assets (COMA) programme by Shared Assets – ‘a think and do tank that makes land work for everyone’. Shared Assets was a delivery partner in the COMA programme and this guide draws upon their experience of supporting many of the green space focused projects that took part (listed in Appendix 2).

There are two main groups of people who may find this guide useful:

  1. Local authority officers and members considering the future of their parks and green spaces, including those looking to the community to play more of an active role in their management
  2. Community organisations, Parish and Town Councils and social enterprises considering taking on new responsibilities for parks and green space management.

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