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including underpinning a green local economy,
mitigating the impacts of climate change,
promoting good health in the local population,
maintaining biodiversity, and valuing the
production of local food – opens up possibilities of
new forms of investment in the landscape.
● Broadening the stakeholding: Being wholly
reliant on public sector patronage is clearly a risky
strategy in the current climate. The process of
finding a meaningful role for landowners, utilities,
user groups and others with a legitimate interest
in furthering the Park is already providing fresh
impetus and funding.
● Having an asset base: It is no coincidence that
most large-scale landscape management
initiatives that have been sustained over a long
period have the means to generate revenue under
their own direct control. Although this
responsibility brings with it other significant
management challenges, examples such as
Milton Keynes Parks Trust, River Nene Regional
Park and some of the Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty and Community Forests are
demonstrating what can be done.
‘Investment in green
infrastructure does itself
create value through uplift
in land values, but there is
no mechanism for capturing
and re-investing this in the
public realm’
● Being open to social enterprise solutions: The
Colne Valley has an established brand to build
on – Colne Valley Foods, established by
Groundwork Thames Valley, is already providing a
new outlet for local producers – and other
businesses in the Park could buy in to the brand.
And there are clearly other opportunities for
service provision, including managing aspects of
the ‘green estate’, which would lend themselves
to being delivered with social objectives alongside
commercial ones.
● Securing adequate reparation from
development: It is clear that the Colne Valley has
lost out over the years in terms of compensation
for the detrimental impact of developments that
have taken place. A tie-in with the new
Community Infrastructure Levy may address this
in the future, but deriving financial benefit from
approved developments can clearly create
different types of dilemma that need to be
reconciled.
Above
The Grand Union Canal is one of many water features in the
Colne Valley Park
So what conclusions can we draw about
sustaining green infrastructure from this
experience?
● We need to challenge the perception that ‘the
countryside manages itself’ – the town has to
contribute to the health of country for mutual
benefit. Development needs to contribute to the
creation and stewardship of these shared public
resources.
● Public realm on this scale needs to have assets
through which it can generate its own income.
● Green infrastructure principles are still relevant in
the current climate – but don’t rely on the public
sector to pay for them alone!
● Diverse land uses can be a good thing (saying ‘no’
to all development is not a viable option) – the key
is achieving quality.
● Expanding the breadth of stakeholders over time
is essential – shared ownership maintains the
legitimacy of the concept. But it has to be
recognised that this in itself takes resources.
As for the Colne Valley Park, there is some way to
go before it secures its future into its second halfcentury,
but the foundations are being laid. Even in
these challenging times, if local authorities are obliged
to withdraw from direct funding/involvement in
management of these precious landscape
resources, there are still ways in which they can
proactively enable transition or alternative
mechanisms to take their place – there is another
way!
● Robin Jones is Regional Development Manager with
Groundwork South East. The views expressed are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent those of the Colne
Valley Partnership as a whole.
Town & Country Planning June 2011 : GRaBS Project – INTERREG IVC; ERDF-funded 297