Foreward -- Executive summary -- Introduction -- Why local authority accounts say parks are only worth £1 each -- Value, quality and use: towards a better way of accounting for parks -- Case studies: practical attempts at valuing the physical assets of parks -- A suggested framework for valuing parks as financial and community assets -- Is the framework useful? responses from practitioners -- Findings -- Appendices

Given the fact that most local authorities assume that each park they own is worth only £1, questions why parks are accounted for in a way that does not recognise their financial value. Examines how parks are valued for local authority accounts, and then considers alternative accounting methodologies such as asset management planning. Considers the complex relationship between the financial value of a park, its quality and the benefits for people and suggests a simple mechanism to capture the wider value of a park to local people - park use as defined by visitor numbers. Concludes by proposing a framework for valuation that gives examples of different assets, indicating where valuation information can be found and shows how to quantify and value these, using Highbury Fields, Islington and Sefton Park, Liverpool as examples.