Parks and other public places are a big part of what makes Darlington an attractive place to live, work and visit. Good quality public places are an important contribution to local quality of life and well being. They provide places to meet, exercise and play, and places to learn about nature or just enjoy the environment. They offer venues for affordable recreation and provide opportunities for young people to undertake creative play or hang out with friends.
Darlington’s priority of creating cleaner, green, safer communities is a golden thread that runs from the community strategy and local area agreement through the corporate plan and down through service plans and individual personal development reviews.
What Has Been Achieved?
The Council has recognised that residents’ satisfaction with parks and open spaces was low at 66% in 2003 and therefore developed a four-pronged approach to improve the quality of the parks and open spaces:
- Redesigning service delivery
- Physical improvements
- Education campaign and community engagement
- Enforcement action
These changes have made a real difference. Resident’s satisfaction with parks and open spaces has increased to 77% in 2006/07, putting the Council among the top performers in England.
To find out more about how Darlington achieved Better Public Places or come along to one of our visits, view Better Public Places Beacon Status 2008 - [pdf, 3.13mb]