Why we're building a Park Quality Framework for Bristol

If you've ever compared your local park to one on the other side of the city, you'll know that "quality" can mean very different things depending on where you live.

Some parks have brand new play equipment and wildflower meadows that get attention every season. Others have huge potential — and brilliant communities around them — but are run-down, over-grown and feel unsafe.

Right now, there's no single, fair way to measure that difference across Bristol. No shared answer to the question: what actually makes a Bristol park "good"? And without that, it's hard to make sure investment goes where it's needed most.

This gap in quality and impact on park access is what we want to change with the Bristol Park Quality Framework.

What we're doing

With funding from the Nature Together project, over the next couple of years, we're working with Bristol City Council and a wide range of partners to build the city's first proper, shared framework for understanding park quality — one that's consistent enough to compare parks fairly across Bristol, but flexible enough to reflect what really matters to the people living in each neighbourhood.

That means:

A clear, shared definition of what "quality" means for a Bristol park
A consistent way to assess parks, so investment decisions are based on evidence
Room for communities to share which quality measures matters most to them
Ongoing ways for residents to keep shaping things, not just a one-off conversation

This isn't an audit that disappears into a filing cabinet. It will to take the aspirations in the Council's Parks and Green Spaces strategy, and make them workable.

It is designed to directly inform where money and effort will go.

Why it matters

We know that the quality of your local park isn't just a "nice to have." It affects whether you feel comfortable letting your kids play outside, whether you've got somewhere decent to walk the dog or get some fresh air, whether nature is thriving on your doorstep, and whether your area feels looked after.

But quality of green space is also deeply unequal across the city. Some communities have well-maintained, nature-rich parks right outside their door. Others don't — and that gap tends to map closely onto wider inequalities in health and opportunity. A framework that fairly identifies where parks are falling short means we can finally start directing investment toward the places that need it most, rather than the places that are already doing fine.

We also want this framework to reflect real life, not just professional opinion. So alongside technical work with council teams and park specialists, we'll be running community co-design sessions in neighbourhoods across the city — including South Bristol, inner-city areas like St Pauls and Easton, and nature-rich spots like Stoke Bishop — to make sure the framework is shaped by people who actually use Bristol's parks, not just people who manage them.

If you live near a park (and in Bristol, who doesn't?), there will be chances to get involved as this develops. We'll share more on how to take part as the community engagement stages get underway.

What happens next

We're at the start of an evidence review, drawing on national standards like the Green Flag Award alongside learning from other UK cities, which will shape an early draft of the framework. From there, we'll be testing and refining it with council teams and park specialists, before opening things up to community co-design sessions across the city.

It's a big piece of work, and we want to get it right — which means taking the time to build something genuinely useful, rather than rushing out something generic. We'll be sharing updates as the framework takes shape, and we'd love Bristol residents to be part of that process.

If you have a park you think deserves more attention, or thoughts on what "quality" should really mean? We want to hear from you as this work develops — keep an eye out for opportunities to get involved.

Help us build a fairer Bristol

If you'd like to help us build a Bristol where every park, in every neighbourhood, gets a fair shot at being brilliant, please consider making a donation today.