Sustainable Community Strategy - Coventry Partnership

4. Making Coventryʼs streets, neighbourhoods, parks and open spaces attractive
and enjoyable places to be - Our Plans
4a Long-term outcomes
• Coventry people will see their streets, neighbourhoods, parks and open spaces as more attractive and
enjoyable places to be
4b Short-term priorities
• Improve street cleanliness in Coventry, especially in neighbourhoods involved in the New Deal for
Communities and Your Neighbourhood Matters programmes and in areas of high density housing
• Reduce fly-tipping in problem areas of the city
• Improve the quality of open spaces including car parks, hedgerows and verges
• Improve the quality and use of local parks and open spaces
4c Some indicators we will use to help us measure success
Level of air quality; improved street and environmental cleanliness including levels of graffiti, litter detritus
and fly posting; levels of fly-tipping; improved local biodiversity – active management of local sites;
satisfaction with the local area
4d Opportunities and challenges of growth
New developments need to include provision to enhance quality of life. This should include improvements
to the built environment, enhancing and protecting valuable green spaces, and providing safe places for
childrenʼs play. We should develop new green spaces in existing densely built up areas as well as
designing green space in new developments. Development on brownfield sites can reduce land currently
used as gardens (which form part of the Coventry green space network) and abandoned brownfield sites
often contribute to Coventry's biodiversity so we must consider protecting important sites. Access to green
areas and open spaces should be improved through the provision of footpaths and street lighting which can
ensure open spaces feel safer and provide better access for disabled people.
4e Equality of opportunity, community cohesion and neighbourhoods
Environmental inequality is very closely associated with wider inequality and deprivation. Tackling
environmental inequality is a fundamental part of narrowing the gap between the most deprived
communities within the city and the most affluent. Environmental cleanliness standards and levels of
satisfaction are lower in priority neighbourhoods. There are opportunities for communities to manage open
spaces and to use open spaces in neighbourhoods for activities and events, including children's play and
physical activities, that bring people from different backgrounds together and contribute to a cohesive
Coventry.
4f Climate change
Coventry's green spaces are important in reducing the impact of climate change - including prevention of
flooding and reducing heat. Improving the safety and attractiveness of the street environment can improve
conditions for cycling and walking and reduce the use of cars. Opportunities for the use of new
technologies such as permeable surfaces can improve drainage.
4g Some key strategies
Coventry City Council Corporate Plan and the Cabinet Members City Services; Neighbourhoods and
Community Services; and Culture, Leisure and Libraries Strategic Plans
Coventry Local Development Framework
Coventry Green Space Strategy
Rights of Way Improvement Plan
Coventry Cultural Strategy
Coventry Climate Change Strategy
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