Newcastle's big parks decision explained as council takes back control from Urban Green

As of Saturday, March 1 Newcastle City Council has retaken control over dozens of parks and allotments which it had previously put into the hands of a charity. 

The U-turn follows major concerns about the finances of Urban Green Newcastle that have emerged over the past year.

But there remain big questions about the future of the city’s green spaces. 

Here, we explain what happened to Urban Green and how a 125-year project was abandoned after just six years.

What is Urban Green Newcastle (UGN)?

Originally known as the Newcastle Parks and Allotments Trust, Urban Green is a charity which was given control over 33 parks and more than 60 allotments by Newcastle City Council in April 2019.

Newcastle was the first major metropolitan area in the UK to hand over the management of its parks in this way.

The idea was that, after years of austerity-driven budget cuts at the civic centre, a charity would be better placed to protect the city’s green spaces – particularly due to the ability to secure grant funding that the council could not access.

It was hoped that UGN would save the city more than £110 million over the course of a 125-year lease.

The Labour-run council agreed to provide subsidies worth £7.7 million that would help see the trust through its first 10 years of operation, after which time it was supposed to become self-sustaining. 

However, what was described as a “pioneering” vision has now been abandoned after just six years.

What happened last year and why is UGN being scrapped now?

The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed in March 2024 how the charity’s future had been thrown into question, when it emerged that it had already burned through all of the council subsidy it had been given and predicted a £6.7 million shortfall up to 2029.

Bosses admitted that the trust would ultimately not be able to survive unless the city council was willing to keep supporting it financially.

While the council agreed to award a further £1 million to keep UGN going for the last 12 months, it also commissioned a review of the trust by Forvis Mazars.

That analysis concluded that there was “no evidence to suggest that UGN will be able to operate without ongoing and substantial financial support from the council for the foreseeable future”.

In November, the council announced that it had decided to pull the plug on Urban Green and that it would be retaking control over the parks. After some delay to that process as opposition councillors questioned the decision, it was given final approval in January.

So, what went wrong?

In its most recent set of accounts, which detailed a £700,000 loss in 2023/24, UGN’s board of trustees said that the original business plan behind its creation was “overly optimistic” and “fatally flawed” – claiming that it inherited a parks estate that was in “very poor condition” and that the speed and scale it which it could generate commercial income had been overestimated.

One key factor in that was a dispute with the city council itself over the right to stage big music festivals in Exhibition Park, which had been seen as a key revenue stream. That row in 2022, which followed complaints about noise from the This Is Tomorrow concerts, led to the council imposing strict limits on how many events could be held.

Higher costs, due to issues such as vandalism and meeting enhanced health and safety regulations, have also been cited as a contributor to UGN’s woes.

Last year’s accounts also show a £900,000 drop in grants and donations.

But the main factor that has been blamed is the Covid-19 pandemic, which arrived less than a year into the charity’s operation.

Trustees say that the pandemic increased costs and “shifted focus” at a key time away from finding new sources of income, with staff instead concentrating on how to manage the impacts of lockdown.

What did Urban Green achieve?

When UGN chief executive Carol Pyrah resigned last year, just weeks before the council announced its decision to cut off future funding, she praised the charity for having delivered “so many great things” through a challenging period. That included upgraded tennis courts, improved football pitches at Walker Park and Paddy Freeman’s Park, walking and cycling route upgrades, and the launch of events like the Northern Lights trail at Leazes Park.

Urban Green has also planted more than 12,000 trees and sought to improve biodiversity through the Let It Grow initiative.

However, it has also come in for plenty of criticism. Having once aimed to secure Green Flag Awards for all 33 of Newcastle’s parks by 2026, only two currently hold that prestigious award – Exhibition Park and Jesmond Dene – after Leazes Park and Walker Park both lost that status in 2024.

Following the Exhibition Park concerts dispute that resulted in claims that green spaces were being turned into “outdoor nightclubs”, UGN has also been accused of treating the 150-year-old Leazes Park as a “cash cow”. After a festival there last spring, locals were left furious at the damage caused – including the knocking over of stone pillars at the Victorian park’s entrance, which remain unfixed today. 

When does the council resume control?

As of midnight on March 1, management of the 33 parks, more than 60 allotment sites and around 60 associated buildings is now the responsibility of the local authority once again. 

Around 40 staff from Urban Green will be transferred across to the civic centre under the TUPE process, ahead of the charity being wound up.

Deputy council leader Alex Hay said on Friday:  “Newcastle boasts some of the most beautiful green spaces in the country, and we are committed to helping them flourish.

“We know the positive impact that green spaces can have on the health and wellbeing of residents, but we are also aware of the significant challenges in managing these spaces.

“We are looking forward to working with both residents and user groups to ensure these spaces thrive. We welcome the staff from Urban Green Newcastle, who have achieved some fantastic results over the last five years, and making best use of their knowledge and expertise.”

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Will the council fare any better than UGN?

This is the key question. At the time of the original handover to Urban Green, the council had slashed its annual parks budget from £2.58 million in 2010/11 to less than £1 million – but now it says that a minimum of £1.5 million will be needed each year just to keep the parks at their current state, let alone make any improvements.

There have been questions about how the council, which is poised to sign off on £21 million of new spending cuts next week, will be able to find that money – particularly given that it will not be able to access some grant funding in the same way a charity could.

The condition of some major assets, including derelict buildings like the Fisherman’s Lodge and the Banqueting Hall in Jesmond Dene, remains a concern too.

At a council meeting last month, Labour were accused of making a “rushed” decision and warned against taking the “nuclear approach” of scrapping UGN entirely.

But the council leadership has insisted that there is no better option on the table and argued that, given that it would still need to keep funnelling cash to Urban Green even if it was allowed to continue to operate, it would be exposed to financial risks either way.