This article was written for posting on Professional Horticulture website and is an update based on a previous article below. If ever you need a clear-cut illustration of the complexity and perils of place-making and regenerating high-profile public spaces, then the saga of Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens is as good a case-study as you will find. In March last year, Manchester City Council had to respond to a 22,000+ petition generated by the influential local paper, the Manc

This is the full article submitted to Professional Horticulture Magazine for Spring 2017 Parks and green space professionals are constantly searching for potential new approaches to managing public land in response to shrinking budgets and diminishing resources. Whilst it is hard to maintain enthusiasm for innovation when urgent cutbacks are the priority, the challenge of this generation of parks managers is to maintain quality whilst seriously cutting costs. The movement to