Council chiefs in Newcastle insist they “still have every confidence” in the charity that controls the city’s parks, despite a clash over festivals.
Strict new measures have been imposed to control major events in Exhibition Park, after almost 100 complaints were made about the “horrendous” noise from last year’s This is Tomorrow concerts.
That decision came despite warnings from Urban Green Newcastle, which was handed responsibility for parks by the city council in 2019, that the restrictions would effectively prevent any festivals being held there – cutting off a key source of income that helps pay for maintenance and to hold smaller, community-focused activities. This is Tomorrow 2022 has since been cancelled, though that has been blamed on rising costs and an “oversaturated market” rather than tougher new limits on noise levels.
Read More: This is Tomorrow 2022 festival cancelled as organisers blame rising costs and 'oversaturated market'
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “We listened to the feedback following This is Tomorrow in September and the new conditions are designed to help limit disruption to residents. We still have every confidence in Urban Green Newcastle to run and manage the parks as events are only one stream of income for the charity.
“We will continue to work closely with Urban Green Newcastle and support their work to provide safe, well-maintained parks and allotments that everyone can enjoy, which make Newcastle such a vibrant and green city to live and work in.”
Newcastle became the first major metropolitan authority in the UK to hand over its parks and allotments to an independent charitable trust, with the aim of generating more income to support green spaces after years of civic centre budget cuts. The council agreed to spend £9.5m to see Urban Green through its first 10 years, with the hope that it will become self-sustaining after that point and ultimately save local taxpayers up to £110m.
Urban Green has been without a chief executive for some time, with James Cross having announced his resignation last June before leaving in the autumn. The charity said that recruitment is still ongoing for a new boss and indicated that they hoped to make an announcement soon.
Jon Riley, acting chief executive of Urban Green Newcastle, added: “We have a very clear mission at Urban Green Newcastle; to connect people to nature and improve the health and wellbeing of families in Newcastle by giving people access to safe, clean and well maintained green spaces. Urban Green Newcastle will continue to ensure our city's parks and allotments remain beautiful and welcoming places for communities all across Newcastle to enjoy.
"Our charity generates funding from a variety of different sources, allowing us to ensure the long term future of Newcastle’s green spaces. We appreciate having the ongoing support of Newcastle City Council as we continue to care for the city’s parks and allotments, and we will work closely with them on plans for our future cultural events programme."
