Are you happy with your local green space?
By Clare Graham, Chair, Open Spaces Committee
Yes? No? Either way, fill in this survey to let Wandsworth Council know. And—would you also consider monitoring it, on the Battersea Society's behalf?
Falcon Park
The Green Spaces Satisfaction Survey 2022
Wandsworth Council recently announced this new initiative—a survey, to be held every two years, 'to find out what people think of their local green space, and what improvements they would like to see. This will help determine how and where Wandsworth will fund improvements. "We want to make sure that the borough’s parks and open spaces meet the needs of local people," said Cllr Judi Gasser [the Cabinet Member for Environment]. "They are a vital resource to support people’s mental and physical health. That’s why we’re bringing in these regular surveys so we can find out how people use their local green space, what they like about it and what needs improvement. That way we can work with local residents to target spending where it is most needed."'
Battersea Park, Sun Gate
Our response
The survey's open until 10 October and you can fill it in for yourself here. I'm still debating what, if any, response to put in on behalf of the Open Spaces Committee. Its aims, as outlined above, are surely admirable but the survey itself is not well designed—you can only submit detailed comments on one individual space at a time, so I will need to go through it thirteen times at least,* just to cover the official list for Battersea! Also, the questions asked, and the multiple-choice options for reply, make it feel rather too much like a tick-box exercise. Nevertheless, there is one last box with some space for individual comments too—your chance to express whatever pleases you most, or indeed bugs you most, about your favourite local green space. So do consider filling it in.
Entrance to Fred Wells Gardens
Support your friendly neighbourhood park
Thankfully, there are many other ways to help look after our wonderful local collection of green spaces. That could be as simple as going out for a walk, to explore some you haven't visited yet (our guidebook will help here) and picking up the odd bit of litter as you go. But if you feel an urge to get more involved, 'The 'Big Three' each have their own Friends organisations, well worth joining—that's the Friends of Battersea Park, the Friends of Wandsworth Common, and the Friends of Clapham Common. And of course the Battersea Society has its own Open Spaces committee. We work with those three organisations, but when it comes to the smaller 'voiceless' parks in particular we are reliant on our own eyes and ears, and those of the Society members who so kindly act as our monitors for various individual spaces. If that's something you'd be prepared to do for an open space near you, we’d love to hear from you; do please get in touch via the email address below.
* For Battersea Park, Christchurch Gardens, Falcon Park, Fred Wells Gardens, Harroway Gardens, Heathbrook Park, Lavender Gardens, Latchmere Recreation Ground, Montefiore Gardens, Queenstown Green, Shillington Park, Wandsworth Common and York Gardens. And those are just the ones on the official list—which doesn't include some smaller spaces, such as the 'pocket park' at Falcon Glade. There's also Clapham Common of course, which is partially within Battersea/ Wandsworth, but looked after in its entirety by Lambeth Council.