Pride Park

Some good and bad news on the parks and gardens front this month. Thomas Heatherwick's wonderful 'garden bridge' over the Thames is moving closer to the starting blocks. The proposed new pedestrian-only bridge is to link Temple Place with the South Bank. Full of flowers, grasses, shrubs and even trees, the bridge will be a year-round 'floating paradise', subject to at least another £100mill being raised to join the £30mill already pledged by the Government.
This news is in contrast to the forecast that public sector funding for our lovely local parks all over the country will fall by 60% in the next 10 years. So local communities are being encouraged to bid for pots of £100,000 to support local projects with examples such as the New York High Line being a benchmark for success. Anything is possible when business works together with local people passionate about a cause but I do think it's a big ask.
Then closer to my old home, I was pleased to see that Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has obtained an injunction against the near closure by the Council of The Sanctuary, the local Nature Reserve in Derby's Pride Park. Practically half of this precious wildlife habitat is due to make way for a professional cycle track.
So London may get its fabulous new footbridge whilst local parks across the country struggle to keep their green spaces alive - that's not much to be proud of.