Parks campaigners meet Government Minister to call for action: The Government is to hold a green spaces seminar early in the new year after a "positive and encouraging" first meeting with The Parks Alliance. The seminar will be hosted by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) after a pledge by the minister responsible for parks Stephen Williams MP. He also invited the Parks Alliance to work with DCLG civil servants on parks issues and to discuss a Commission for Parks. Parks Alliance chairman Mark Camley, deputy chair Sue Ireland and vice chairman Dr Sid Sullivan met Williams in Parliament this week. They said the Minister raised the question of whether parks should be a statutory service, something many members of The Parks Alliance support. He also recognised the need for quality standards, including the Green Flag scheme, run by Keep Britain Tidy. For its part, The Parks Alliance welcomed the work the Government is doing identifying and mapping all UK parks, and asked that this work be extended to cover quality as well. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Meanwhile, parks professionals, landscape contractors and local authority representatives signed up to the UK Save Our Parks petition at major events this autumn: At four major green space events in October and November, many of those who best understand, manage and speak up for our green spaces have been signing the petition. The four events were: - the Green Connect conference in Exeter on October 8th, attended by over 80 organisations concerned about green spaces - the Sustainable Green Infrastructure conference at the British Library in London on 23rd October, attended by over 100 reps from local authorities, national green space charities and organisations, landscape contractors and designers, Friends Groups, academics and professionals - the London Parks and Green Spaces Forum's event for London's Local Authorities at London's City Hall on 17th November, attended by Council cabinet members and Heads of Parks from 20 local authorities. - an annual meeting of Green Flag judges at London's City Hall on 17th November Representatives of the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces attending the events were heartened by the overwhelming support for the national petition by the whole sector. It seems clear that almost everybody 'in the know' is highly aware, deeply shocked, and keen to speak out over the alarming crisis which the UK's green spaces are being plunged into due to the savage Government-driven cuts in funding and budgets. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Let's step up the pressure on the Government and all political parties to take seriously the future funding and protection of our vital green spaces. 1. Sign the petition: http://chn.ge/TXdqhj 2. Spread the news via Twitter: @LoveParks_Week #LoveParks 3. Spread the news via Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukparkspetition - and: www.facebook.com/LoveParksWeek 4. Refer to the Parks Petition webpage: www.natfedparks.org.uk/parks-petition.html - the page includes a Sign Up Sheet and leaflets to distribute And please don't forget to support your local green space Friends Group or help set up one for any green space without one! Dave Morris, NFPGS Campaigns Officer