In the UK, voices for the promotion of parks and green space are stronger than they’ve ever been. Although the benefits are widely acknowledged, funding and user-satisfaction continue to be hurdles in many situations.

International successes

Referring to cases from other countries can provide a valuable push to making change happen at home. In the town of Venlo (population 93 000), in the east of Holland, public parks and open space have paved the way for urban renaissance.

The current Mayor of the city, Mr Peter Freij described the situation ten years ago: ‘The Juliana Park had become in the words of my predecessor a “no go area”. At five ha, it’s a big space which sits between the city centre and the east side. It was cutting the city in two and had become a dangerous liability.’

Regeneration

Transforming the neglected and feared open spaces of Venlo was identified as a key means of improving the liveability of the city. Stakeholder consultation revealed that security was the number one priority. First, neglected shrubbery was removed to open up vistas. Next, the council enacted new landscape designs that fulfilled the needs of different user groups. Following this, community involvement resulted in a programme of events in the park which generated further constructive usage. Lighting, a bike path and zoning for different activities, plus more investment and provision for maintenance and management ensured that the only way was up. Mayor Freij remarked: ‘eight years on from transforming this park, people still stop me to say how fantastic it has become’.

Above: Impression of Maas corridor

Above: Recreational space beside on the River Maas

Programme roll-out

Following this success, it was possible to access funding from the Dutch government, as well as the city’s own funds, to bring these benefits to the rest of the city. A further eight public parks have been regenerated following a similar model. Each park has a different theme, depending on its location: water, economy, history, sport, are all identified with different parks.

Private finance

In one district, forty nineteenth century villas surrounded a neglected little park – another reservoir of anti-social activity. The city proposed to the residents that if they contributed to the regeneration, their property values would rise accordingly. £70 000 was raised in this way and made it possible to create a wonderful local amenity.

This green city addresses contemporary issues

Flood defence and air quality are two core areas of environmental concern in Venlo. Keesjan van den Herik, project manager, explains: ‘the priority of dealing with flood defence ties in well with the need to provide more facilities for green recreation and nature conservation. We’ve converted 324 ha into natural floodplain, with ten kilometres of footpaths.’ There is also a planting project underway to use trees as air filters and carbon sponges along one of the city’s main routes that carries 100 000 vehicles a day.