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A report published recently by the Greater London Assembly calls for the Mayor to make a firm commitment to ensure that green spaces are not sidelined by the rapid growth of building developments.
The report by the Assembly's 'Green Spaces Investigative Committee' reveals that many parks are neglected by Local Authorities. Dog-fouling, vandalism, fly-tipping, crime and pressure from development exacerbate the problem. Between 1989 and 1999, nearly 2,500 acres of green space in London were lost to development - equivalent to 1,500 football pitches.
A meeting to discuss setting up a London Parks Forum took place in early February and the Trust was invited to attend.
Further reports in due course.
Trust patron Simon Thurley has recently been appointed the new Director of English Heritage.
Dr Thurley, who takes up his appointment in March, is currently Director of the Museum of London, where he has presided over a huge increase in visitors during his curatorship, despite - or maybe because of - his declared antipathy to "interactive learning resources".
His appointment comes as the government sets out its long-awaited response to the English Heritage document Power of Place, which calls for whole areas to be protected and not just historic buildings.
Dr Thurley, who says his hobby is "ruins", has pledged to make the country's history "central to our national life".
Previously he was the first curator of Historic Royal Palaces, which runs the Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court. He was responsible for the repair work after the disastrous fire at Hampton Court in 1986.
His appointment has been widely welcomed in the national press, who have nevertheless pointed out that occupying the English Heritage hot seat will demand all of his skill and stamina.
A shortlist of 11 designers chosen to submit designs for the £3m Princess Diana Memorial Fountain was announced just before Christmas.
The fountain will be sited at a disused pump house on the banks of the Serpentine and linked by paths to the Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens and the Princess of Wales Memorial walk through the park to Buckingham Palace, due to open in 2003.
Finalists include sculptor William Pye from Wandsworth, who made the water feature at Millennium Square in Bristol, leading hi-tech architects Sir Terry Farrell and Zaha Hadid and avant-garde designer Thomas Heatherwick.
An announcement of the winner is expected from the Royal Parks Agency early in 2002.
After years of neglect, Russell Square closed in September 2001 for six months to enable Camden Council to carry out a £1.4m refit. The work will restore the Grade II listed square, the largest public square in London, to the original 18th century designs of Sir Humphrey Repton.
The work includes replacement of railings and gates, with a spectacular fountain in the centre of the square. Detailed plans are displayed on notice boards at the north and south ends of the Square. When it opens again, the square will have a full time attendant and a permanent gardener on site five days a week.
Speaking about the works, Martin Stanton, Camden's head of parks and opens spaces, said: "Once the public experience the square restored to its former glory I am sure everyone will see the closure has been worth it."
Battersea Park has won a Green Flag award from the Government for the fourth time since 1997. The award is given to parks and green spaces that meet national standards of cleanliness and sustainability, and contribute to community involvement.
Other London winners in 2001 included
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A record 81 parks nationwide were given the award, 26 more than last year.
From April 2002 the Royal Parks Agency is to become an independent non-governmental body (what used to be called a quango).
The Government hopes the change of status will allow the parks to raise private money, in the form of sponsors and benefactors, to top up its government grant of £22m a year.
Among plans announced by Agency chief Will Weston are:
Charles Bridgeman has one, so do Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West and John and Jane Loudon. Capability Brown might soon have one!
If you are still unclear, we are talking about the commemorative Blue Plaques erected on buildings in Greater London by English Heritage.
The criteria for nomination are stringent! They are as follows:
Whom would you nominate for a Blue Plaque? If your nomination fulfils the criteria above, please send your suggestion to Barbara Simms at Duck Island Cottage or email her.
Water games last popular in the Mannerist gardens of seventeenth-century Renaissance Italy have been enjoying something of a revival in England in recent years.
There is a water maze with jets of water blocking your path at Hever Castle in Kent, the dancing summer fountains of Somerset House and in Hammersmith Park, since summer 2001, an 'interactive water play feature' on the site of the old paddling pool.
Here a series of jets below ground level squirt water and are activated by pressure pads and timers as children play. The feature is covered with a non-slip surface and rubber safety base. In the hot days of last summer it was a great success.
Groundwork Hackney has been awarded a grant of £50,000 for improvements to Albion Square, Dalston, which dates from the 1840s. Work will include restoring the fountain and repairing the paths.
The Square will become one of the attractions in a new heritage walk in Dalston planned by the Hackney Society.
Richmond Park's Robin Hood Gate will be closed to incoming cars from March 2002 (it is already closed as an exit). The closure will initially be for 12 months to assess the impact.
The RPA hopes to reduce traffic flows through the park by 5% or around 1000 vehicles a day. In addition, the speed limit will be reduced to 20 m.p.h and the central Pen Ponds car park will be closed to all but the elderly and disabled. A 'land train' may be introduced to convey visitors to Pen Ponds.
The RPA is also investigating road charging in the Park. With no bridges over the Thames between Kingston and Richmond, the roads around the park represent a vital artery for traffic around south west London.
The plans have predictably aroused heated local debate. The proposal to close the Pen Ponds car park has been particularly opposed by local mothers with young children.
Payment of a £1.1 m Heritage Lottery Fund grant promised four years ago to renovate Waterlow Park, Highgate, has been delayed while rival local groups have wrangled over the improvements they wish to see.
Now the fear is the money on offer has not kept pace with rising costs and the project will have to be scaled down. Waterlow Park project manager Peter Stewart has advised the Friends of Waterlow Park to write to the HLF to prioritise the work the work they wish to see done in case the money runs out before the scheme is complete.
Last month Camden Council approved plans to create a £350,000 depot and education centre; other work includes renovating terraces, repairing walls and re-landscaping open spaces.
The Friends group have also expressed disappointment about the general state of the park, including broken paths and excess water in certain areas.
Local resident Dudley Fox, who fractured his ankle on a path in the park three years ago, said: "Camden has let the park get into a state of disrepair and now there is not enough lottery money to fix it."
Following a campaign by local people, a plan to remove the deer from Clissold Park Hackney has been shelved.
The Clissold Park User Group are now campaigning for the re-opening of the cafe and greater integration of facilities between park users and the new Arnold leisure centre.
In 2000 Mavis Batey, David Lambert and Kim Wilkie published Indignation - The Campaign for Conservation - its title a tribute to the 'indignation' meetings held by Richmond residents a century ago as they fought to protect Richmond Hill overlooking the Thames. The battle for Richmond Hill may have been won but other 'indignation' campaigns remain to be fought and one is currently waging just below Richmond Hill over Richmond Council's proposed development plans for Twickenham riverside opposite Eel Pie Island.
The historic waterfront at Twickenham, which forms part of the riverside covered by the Thames Landscape Strategy, was originally purchased by Richmond Council in 1924, with a loan from the Ministry of Health, for the express purpose of providing public walks and pleasure grounds.
The land remained a public open space until an open air swimming pool was opened in 1935 and stayed that way until the baths were closed for 'refurbishment' in the late 1970s. Various developments have been proposed since then, and to date have all failed in the face of local opposition. The waterfront is now suffering from planning blight and the old baths are now a crumbling, derelict eyesore.
In the latest attempt to get the site developed, Richmond Council has offered their part of the site to chosen developers, on a 125-year lease, at an annual rent of £1, in exchange for a £750,000 payment towards 'leisure in Twickenham'. The Twickenham Riverside Trust has queried the legality of the plan, which it has rejected as oversized and intrusive, leading to a loss of public open space and amenities. Local people have expressed particular concern that recent changes in planning legislation will enable the developers to overturn the lease in a few years time. The Council has recently announced that its officers will only discuss planning issues for the site with its preferred developer and residents' representatives have asked the Minister concerned, Stephen Byers, to call in the scheme.
A similar indignation campaign is being fought by the Friends of Swiss Cottage in North London against Camden council over plans for a £49m 'flagship development' on derelict land behind the Underground station. Interestingly the private developers who have offered to fund site 'improvements' in return for building luxury flats and a leisure centre, are the same venture capital group, Dawney Day, who are backing the Twickenham riverside scheme.
Increasingly the centralisation of the planning process, together with the pressure on local authorities to maximise their use of resources, is pitting local communities against Council and developers. Similar battles to those in London are taking place all over the country. One hundred years after the Act protecting Richmond Hill, the need for indignation is as great as ever.
Indignation: The Campaign for Conservation 64pp, by Mavis Batey, David Lambert & Kim Wilkie