Description:
Regeneration of an urban park with funding secured on the basis of ecosystem service assessment
Challenges and lessons learned:
The project highlighted how an economic appraisal of the benefits that an area of land can provide for people, can bring about significant change. The clear demonstration of the value of the project helped reassure and engage representatives of the local community.
It is also an example of partnership working, and of a scale of park regeneration that was only made possible by the combination of staff, funding and technical resources provided by the various partners involved. It also illustrates the potential for such a project to cause a resurgence of public interest in nature and access to the outdoors.
The involvement of the Environment Agency as a partner helped in the process of securing the numerous approvals needed (flood risk, contaminated land, soil disposal etc.).