Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
development of recreation provision. The land was a former First World War Royal
Flying Corps base defending London from Zeppelin attack and in the Second World War,
it was a front line 'Battle of Britain' spitfire squadron base. The land was also used for
sand and gravel extraction to the point that by the 1970s a legacy of dereliction remained,
as housing development surrounded the site. While the Countryside Commission (1983)
reviewed Havering's scheme and found a legacy of poor public provision in public
housing areas and inadequate recognition of rights of way, landscaping schemes also
remained a neglected feature. Expecting the London Borough of Havering to set a
precedent for landowners to follow has taken a long time to reach fruition. Nevertheless,
the approach has brought modest success through environmental improvements
establishing attractive recreational facilities by effectively tidying up many sites
(Harrison 1991). The success of such projects was also followed by a new initiative in
1985—the Groundwork Trust, based on a scheme in St Helen's urban fringe
(Groundwork Foundation 1986). Since the early 1990s, this area been further developed
to comprise 250 acres of fields and trees, with 4 miles of parks and horse rides, a lake and
picnic sites. The nature reserve (Ingrebourne Marshes) which now forms a key
component of the site is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It has
also been incorporated as part of the Thames Chase Community Forest Initiative since
1990.
Variability in the usage of Country Parks reflects public knowledge of their existence
and the attraction of individual locations. The precise location of recreation sites in the
urban fringe appears to directly influence usage, with those located near to residential
areas which permit residents to walk to them recording highest usage rates. As Harrison
(1991) concludes
the recreational role played by sites in the urban fringe will differ
depending upon their ease of access to local people who walk or cycle to
them and not necessarily on the preferences of a wider constituency
served by car…[and] the recreational role of countryside areas embedded
in the urban area or abutting it is likely to be very different from that of
more distant countryside sites.
(Harrison 1991:166)
What is clear is that the supply of recreational resources alone (e.g. Country Parks) is
not sufficient in the urban fringe if the needs and recreational preferences of users are not
analysed since these factors directly affect recreational behaviour.
