Natural England

Evaluating Doorstep Greens through stories - 15 Case Studies

Doorstep Greens (DG) are about changing landscapes; re-vitalising pieces of open space so that they can be enjoyed freely by local communities.  But as we know from our experience of other community-led greenspace schemes, the changes that occur away from the turfing and tree-planting are often much more far-reaching.

The projects featured in these case studies demonstrate unequivocally how the creation of a Doorstep Green has made a significant impact on the community: injecting pride into neglected areas, getting neighbours talking to each other, defusing anti-social behaviour and inspiring people to take ownership of their environment.

A catalyst for change
Clearly, some groups had consciously taken on their project as a means to address problems within the community.  At Clifton Place DG (170kb pdf) (170kb pdf) in Easton, Bristol, drug dealers had been operating openly on the site and drug-related crime was rife.  Su Willingham, chair of the local residents’ group involved in creating the green, summed up the feelings of the neighbourhood: “The land is not being used constructively because we have been intimidated by the drug users and dealers. We want it back!”

At Oak Road (129kb pdf) (129kb pdf) in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, residents had reached the end of their tether with local youths’ sprees of vandalism and car-burning.   Project leader Babs Miles explained how they used the Doorstep Green project as a catalyst for change: “We told them, ‘I am prepared to be a witness to your bad behaviour.’  We showed them we could speak their language, shake their throat a little, but also give them something positive.”

Uniting the community
One of the scheme’s defining features was the importance placed on effective community consultation, a factor which seems to hold the key to successful, inclusive, sustainable projects.

The fact is that many DG groups re-discovered the community spirit often felt to be lacking in modern life through their project.  Nowhere was the ‘DG effect’ felt more than at Carter Park (179kb pdf) (179kb pdf) on the edge of Middlesbrough, where young and old were brought together right from the start through imaginative, inclusive consultation.  

As Clare Iley-Christie, Environmental Projects Officer with West Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Trust explained, the ice was broken when a community artist made a video with a cross-section of local residents.   “All the age groups, old and young, made plasticene models of themselves. They had such a laugh!  At first the kids were stand-offish, they didn’t want to work with the older people; and the elderly thought it wouldn’t be much fun, but at the end they said, ‘we’ve made so many new friends.’ ”  

The green has had an undeniably unifying effect on the community, and appears to have stopped a drift towards anti-social behaviour by the area’s young people in its tracks. “It has completely broken down the barriers,” said Clare Iley-Christie.  “I work in three different areas across this region and I haven’t met another community that is so strong. I’ve never worked on something which has pulled people together like this project has.”

Adding value to existing facilities
For some communities, the prospect of a Doorstep Green meant an opportunity to make links to other amenities in the neighbourhood for their mutual benefit.   At Ockment (198kb pdf) (198kb pdf) in Okehampton, Devon, for example, the Doorstep Green site backed on to a community centre which was the hub of local life, providing a home for the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, the Council for Voluntary Services, an IT suite with 25 computers and the local scout group.  It also offered a wide range of training courses plus meeting, conference and crèche facilities.  

With the creation of the Doorstep Green, its facilities became even more appealing; as Lindsey Svensson, project organiser, explained: “The garden has definitely made us more attractive as a meeting centre... and since we charge for that service, that has helped us towards sustainability, so that we can continue to be around for longer.”

Digging deep to find new skills
One of the most inspirational aspects of the scheme was seeing people, sometimes against their own expectations, make major achievements on behalf of their community.   Many of the communities had little experience of large-scale project management, yet had to assume responsibility for a wide range of tasks:   from community consultation and planning to fundraising, landscape design and converting their plans into reality on the ground.

Of all the groups who achieved beyond expectations, New Herrington (162kb pdf) (162kb pdf) in Sunderland stood out. The Square Route Group, a team of eight women chaired by mother-of-four Julie Coxon, totally transformed the original green at the centre of their former pit village. Since the colliery closed in 1985 the community had suffered poverty-related problems; access to one row of houses was via an unadopted road, which was in such a poor state that residents drove across the green instead. Many also parked there, alongside caravans, broken-down and burnt-out vehicles.  

“The Countryside Agency said it would make a fantastic Doorstep Green, but we had to get the cars off,” said Julie Coxon. The group not only achieved this, but went on to create a £½m Doorstep Green and traffic-calming Home Zone, pulling in additional support and funding from English Partnerships, Sunderland City Council, BiffAward, Northern Rock and the Home Office.

Mel Speding, Councillor for Shiney Row ward in Sunderland, attributed the project’s success to the strength of the main protagonists. “It was a massive undertaking for them, but it was always achievable with their determination. Every time a hurdle appeared they would find a way over it.”

Seizing what you already have
While the acquisition of a brand new open space was the motivation for those communities with no space,   for others, the driving force was a desire not to lose what they already had.   In today’s congested suburbs and densely-packed conurbations, green space is an increasingly precious commodity and this was a recurring theme.

At The Spinney (190kb pdf) (190kb pdf) DG in Camborne, West Cornwall, the group’s prime impetus was to preserve a well-used shortcut and save it from developers. “The Spinney had always been there, something we took for granted,” explains Carol Rogers, a member of the local church council, “but suddenly we realised, ‘hang on, we could lose this.’ ”

Meanwhile at Oak Road (129kb pdf) (129kb pdf), the moment of realisation came when the local council proposed building a new bus route through the middle of their site.   As Babs Miles explained, for the community this was the final straw. “There it was, this horrible piece of land that nobody really cared about.   But when they wanted to put a fast track bus route through it, that was it.   That was the one point the whole estate came together and said ‘No.’ ”

Small investment, big returns
All of the Doorstep Greens – those featured in these case studies and the 185 others throughout England – have been created by ordinary communities;   people who cared enough about their local environment to take on the job of complex legal negotiations, endless form-filling, handling large sums of money, liaising with partner organisations, hiring contractors and persuading others to join their cause.  

It’s not a remit for the faint-hearted, and the Countryside Agency applaud their courage and tenacity.   What these projects also demonstrate is how a relatively small scheme (in government finance terms) can deliver huge changes – both environmental and social – for the people in that immediate locality.  The impact, were the scheme to be repeated in every needy community in the UK, would be monumental.