Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they take in respect of the sale of local park land by councils; and whether the requirements in the Localism Act 2011 enable such sales to be prevented.

My Department has no specific role in relation to council-owned park land. My answer of 29 January 2015, HL4224, outlined the broader legal framework for the disposal of property assets by local authorities. The sale of park land is not something we have encouraged – rather, councils should be disposing of brownfield land and redundant buildings.

The Localism Act 2011 has introduced a Community Right to Bid, and parks and green spaces are good examples of sites that could be nominated as an asset of community value.

This Government has also introduced a new local planning designation for local green spaces. This could be designated by a local planning authority in its Local Plan or by a local neighbourhood through a neighbourhood plan. This could include park land.

Of course, local elections provide a mechanism for decisions and policies of councils to be challenged by local residents.