Local government officers, pragmatism and creativity during austerity – the case of Urban Green Newcastle

In the UK, during austerity local governments face pressures to identify transformative financial solutions to parks provision and to protect parks as public spaces. Yet, how local government officers balance these demands is under-explored. This article discusses the transfer of Newcastle upon Tyne’s parks from local government to a new entity, Urban Green Newcastle. Working within a project framework, across the local authority, and in public consultation, we show how local government officers crafted narratives to legitimise their work and to provide an ex-post rationalisation for: creative working; the changes to democratic accountability in the new model; and the risks involved in creating UGN. The article deepens our understanding of local government officers’ agency during austerity via its attention to legitimisation narratives. We show how local government officers contribute to the (re)conception of parks as public spaces through the negotiation of alternative narratives of parks management, governance, and democratic accountability.