HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES HOSTS PARKS ROUNDTABLE

HRH The Prince of Wales recently hosted industry leaders at a Fields in Trust roundtable to discuss how green spaces can help to tackle some of the key challenges facing communities now, and in the future. 

Charity Fields in Trust convened planners, designers, developers, and house builders for the conversation, focussing on how green spaces should be championing health and well-being, inclusion and diversity, climate change and nature recovery. 

The event held at Kensington Palace provided an opportunity for HRH The Prince of Wales, President of Fields in Trust, to listen to the current challenges and discuss how the charity plans to transform the approach to delivering future green spaces through practical tools and guidance.

The Prince of Wales was joined at the roundtable event by Adrian Brown from Berkeley Strategic Land Limited, Ian Anderson from ICENI Projects, Ian Houlston from LDA Design, Victoria Hills from the Royal Town Planning Institute, a representative from The Royal Foundation, Mark Skilbeck from Taylor Wimpey, and Dinah Bornat from ZCD Architects.

Following meaningful discussion all attendees agreed the time to act is now and they committed their expertise and experience to work with Fields in Trust to co-design the future guidance and encourage more industry leaders to get involved.

Founded in 1925, Fields in Trust has used its respected position to advocate benchmark standards for parks and green spaces since the 1930s. The “Six Acre Standard” came to be widely accepted and a derivation of the standard is adopted by around 75% of local authorities. Building on this legacy the initial discovery work with LDA Design will lead to the creation of more holistic guidance to support the industry to optimise the quality, functionality, and long-term sustainability of green spaces. 

Jo Barnett, Chair of Trustees at Fields in Trust said, "For nearly a century we have used our voice to advocate for the provision of the right quantity of future proofed green space in towns and cities but we recognise that we need to go further. The covid-19 pandemic reinforced the value of shared green space to community, health and wellbeing and with increasing recognition of the role of these spaces in local climate action plans now is the time to act. 

"With the support of key players in the industry, we are delighted to have a real opportunity to create guidance that can inspire the green spaces of the future that will support both people and nature."