Breadcrumbs
Assisting and supporting greenspace funding - 14 January 2004
The Countryside Agency welcomes today’s Government announcement of £63 million for better urban living in the South East’s growth areas. The Agency confirms it assisted the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in identifying, assessing and planning the work to be carried out with the new greenspace funding.
Keith Buchanan, the Countryside Agency’s head of Countryside for Towns, says he is pleased to see that, out of the £63 million, the Government is putting more than £11 million into new environmental projects in the growth areas, aimed at improving landscapes, country paths and bridleways, valuable habitats and accessible green spaces.
“This new funding is a clear recognition of the importance of environmental quality and the value of creating safe, healthy and appealing amenities in these areas,” he says. “The projects in the growth areas of Ashford, the Milton Keynes/South Midlands area and in the Stansted/Cambridge area will improve the quality of life for residents in both existing and new housing areas. Our South East team worked on developing the best methods of appraising potential projects while our East of England team were actively involved in generating and facilitating bids. We are very pleased with the outcome.”
“We also welcome the publication of the Thames Gateway Greenspace Strategy by ODPM and Defra and the guidance it gives in integrating environmental enhancement with economic growth. Both the new funding and this Thames Gateway Greenspace Strategy clearly recognise the value of good quality green space in creating a better quality of life for those living and working in both existing and regenerated areas.
“However, at a time when so much work is going into the development of the hard infrastructure in the growth areas, it is clear that a lot of effort also needs to go into delivering the best possible soft infrastructure - the green spaces, traffic free routes and other sustainable development issues. With development proposals already being submitted, stakeholders, including planners, developers and agencies, need to share expertise and work in partnership across boundaries to ensure that the best green space strategies are included in the master or development plans. These opportunities must not be missed,” he says.
“In our view it is important for these green spaces to be a valued, vibrant and multifunctional resource providing a wide range of social and environmental benefits and contributing to the quality of life, economy and sustainability of the areas. Everybody can benefit if well-managed and accessible countryside can be put within everyone's reach. It also offers the opportunity of creating exciting new landscapes for the Twenty First Century comprising a mix of sustainable communities and refreshed landscapes,” Mr Buchanan says.
ENDS
The Countryside Agency is the statutory body working to make life better for people in the countryside and improve the quality of the countryside for everyone. For further information on the importance of green space in urban areas, visit the Countryside Agency's website at its Countryside For Towns section:
www.countryside.gov.uk/countrysidefortowns/index.asp
