Managing Urban Parks: User Perspectives and Local Leisure Needs in the 1990s

Abstract

Local authorities in Britain have experienced a ‘management revolution’ in the 1980s and early 1990s following the Local Government Act (1988), which introduced the concept of internal trading systems and Compulsory Competitive Tendering to achieve a greater efficiency and responsiveness in public service provision. This article examines park-based leisure services in the London Borough of Newham. It argues that, in spite of the management revolution, local leisure needs are not sufficiently targeted to deliver these services to local communities. The paper concludes that greater attention needs to be directed towards park-based management plans to meet local leisure needs.