A new style Green Infrastructure Group partnership meeting was held on the 11^th October at the University College Suffolk. Local Authority officers and representatives from other organisations were able to hear three excellent presentations. These considered GI from a broad national policy level down to community level and prompted a discussion as to how GI in the Haven Gateway could be funded and delivered more widely.

John Giles from the Environment Agency set the context exploring the inter-relationship between the critical issues of climate change and how the strategic planning and local delivery of Green Infrastructure could help to mitigate against the inevitable changes in climate and weather events that will affect the East of England. John encouraged planners, greenspace officers and local communities to keep the subject high on the agenda as the consultation on the National Planning Policy framework is underway and housing growth and development takes place.

In a lively presentation, Heidi Thompson from Norfolk County Council explored why it is so hard to get strategic greenspace taken seriously by councils, developers and the public at large, using examples of good practice and missed opportunities through her work with Greater Norwich Development Partnership.  The importance of inclusion of GI in Joint Core strategies was stressed but also the opportunities that the new Local Nature partnerships and Nature Improvement Areas may bring in the context of working across the local authority boundaries and within the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. Heidi also explored their initial thinking on how the Community Interest Levy funding allocations may help support the funding of GI in her area.

Gary Richen from the Shotley Community Partnership showed just what can be achieved by local communities groups, working in partnership with local councils and statutory bodies and how a small community vision to address a community environmental ‘problem’ can grow to play its part in achieving strategic Green Infrastructure.

Shotley Cliff picnic area - before -

Picnic area - after -

As the winner of the ilovelandscape community voting competition, organised by Groundwork East of England and the Haven Gateway Partnership, the small grant had been invaluable in achieving wide publicity, reaching many more potential volunteers and sponsors and local political involvement. From modest beginnings as a footpath scheme, the competition had created the momentum for the community to begin to think of its project as the first stage in the development of  a Heritage Park linked to other important local green spaces.

A case study on the Shotley project will be placed on the HGP website in due course.

The next meeting of the Haggis Group will be in March 2012 where a similar programme of talks, discussions and sharing of practice will address how to keep GI high on the economic, social and environment agendas of the day.