Parks and open spaces in Liverpool

Liverpool, England, has a wealth of public parks and gardens. There are over convert|2500|acre|km2 of parks and open spaces in the city [cite web | title=Parks and recreation| work=Liverpool City Council website| url=http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Leisure_and_culture/Parks_and_recreation/index.asp| accessdate=April 23 | accessyear=2007 ] .

Much of the open space, which today is in public ownership, was for centuries private estate land.

Historical background

In 1833, the Select Committee on Public Walks emphasised the need to provide accessible space for recreation to improve the health of the urban population, to diffuse social tensions and to allow social classes to mix.

From the early 1850s onwards, Liverpool endorsed this policy with the introduction of a ring of major municipal parks through a significant level of investment in public parks. These included Wavertree, Shiel, Sefton, Newsham and Stanley Parks

City centre parks

Liverpool city centre features a number of city centre parks and gardens. These include St. John's Gardens and St Nicholas Church Gardens.

Parks

Liverpool City Council owns and manages a number of parks in the city, such as the historic Calderstones Park and the Victorian parks, namely Stanley Park, Newsham Park, Wavertree Botanic Park, Newsham Park and Sefton Park. Entry to all of these parks is free of charge.

Croxteth Country Park

:"Main Article Croxteth Hall"Today Croxteth Hall & Country Park is managed by Liverpool City Council. This park is an example of a key working country estate in the North West of England, with the park features the historic Hall itself, surrounded by mature woodlands, a collection of rare breeds farm animals in the traditional 'Home Farm' yard and a Victorian walled garden.

Academic Studies

Academics from the University of Liverpool's School of History are undertaking research on the historic development of parks and open spaces in the city and their future contribution to community development, education, bio-diversity, public health and urban regeneration. The team will compile the first definitive chronology of the city’s parks over the past 200 years and a book, due to be published in 2008, will document the changing role of parks, from their prominence during the Victorian era through to the present day. [cite web | title=Researchers explore history of Liverpool parks| work=University of Liverpool| url=http://www.liv.ac.uk/newsroom/press_releases/2007/01/liverpool_parks.htm| accessdate=April 23 | accessyear=2007 ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_recreation/parks_and_gardens/ Council Page]