A charity set up five years ago by Newcastle City Council to manage its parks and allotments is set to close and be folded back into the local authority. 

Urban Green Newcastle has managed 33 parks, more than 60 allotment sites and about 60 buildings since it was established as a charity by the council in 2019.

The council hoped the move would enable the charity, which has about 40 employees, to become financially self-supporting but this plan was derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The virus significantly impacted expected income from commercial premises and events held in parks UGN manages, the council said.

The council granted £1m of additional funding to the charity for 2023/24 on the condition that a review of the management of parks and allotments would be carried out.

The review has been completed and a report which recommends the council brings back the management of parks and allotments is set to be presented to the councillors on 25 November.

Jim Beirne, chair of Urban Green Newcastle, said: “We are disappointed that Newcastle City Council’s cabinet is considering a proposal for the management and care of the city’s parks and allotments to return to local authority control.

“We believe that the management of parks and allotments through an independent charity that works in close partnership with the council continues to be the right approach for the long-term future of Newcastle’s green spaces.”

Beirne said the charity had performed well despite the challenges it had faced with the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

“We have secured substantial new income and funding, invested in biodiversity and nature, and improved our parks and allotments to ensure they are safer and better spaces for the city’s residents to enjoy,” Beirne said.

“If the cabinet decides to move forward with the proposed recommendation, we will work closely with Newcastle City Council over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition for the good of our staff and the city’s green spaces. 

The council appointed consultants to work on an options appraisal about the future management of Newcastle’s parks and allotments.

Of the choices presented, the council chose the option of cutting funding to UGN which would see the charity wind down with all staff and assets transferred back to the council.

Alex Hay, deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Urban Green Newcastle have achieved some fantastic results over the past five years but there have been many challenges, not least the pandemic.

“It has become clear that the business case to continue with external management of these green spaces will continue to come at a large cost to the taxpayer.

“Bringing management back into the council will not fix this overnight, but it will give us greater control over how we ensure the financial viability of our city’s parks.

“If the recommendation is approved by the cabinet then we will work with the senior management team at Urban Green Newcastle to support those staff affected and ensure a smooth transition period.”

The council said no redundancies would be made as part of the transfer and staff would move over from UGN back to the council under transfer rules.

“Some UGN staff may decide to move elsewhere and the risk to service delivery arising from this will need to be carefully monitored,” the report said.