A Cross Cutting Initiative

Focussing on the key themes of sustainable development and social and environmental justice, Greenspace Scotland will promote coordinated action at both a local and national level. The Scottish Executive Strategy for sustainable development, Meeting the needs… priorities, actions and targets for sustainable development in Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2002), stresses the need for an integrated approach to social, environmental and economic issues.

This is supported by a new requirement, under the Local Government in Scotland Act (2003), for local authorities to establish Community Planning partnerships. These bring together key partners to prepare and implement a shared strategy to improve quality of life in their area. Community Plans provide a unique opportunity to embed the GfCI vision, establish partnerships, secure community support and ensure that local greenspace partnerships deliver local priorities.

Greenspaces have a wide range of type and function, and are valued for a great many different reasons. They are places where we go to meet others, to relax and unwind. They provide safe space to play, enjoy fresh air and exercise. They are places to learn about, and celebrate, our local natural and cultural heritage, and can provide a link to our industrial or geological past. They help bring communities together to shape a shared vision for their local area. Whatever their primary function, all greenspaces contribute to the social, environmental and economic life of our towns and cities. Figure 2 identifies some of key stakeholders in the GfCI. Some of these links are outlined in the following section, and boxes 2 – 5 give project examples.

Figure 2 - The GfCI Jigsaw


‘I want environmental justice so that all our people can live in decent surroundings and can access the countryside’

 Jack McConnell,  First Minister - 18th Feb. 2002

"Sustainable development is not an option. Our social economic and environmental ambitions are inter linked and we must work to deliver all three if we are going to deliver the quality of life we want for ourselves and for future generations.”

Ross Finnie, Environment Minister - 18th Dec. 2002.

Social

Greenspace Scotland and the local greenspace partnerships will help to create inclusive, active communities by bringing people together through their use, enjoyment and management of greenspaces.

  • Communities Scotland are developing the principles set out in Closing the Gap – Building Better Communities (Scottish Executive, 2002). By targeting areas of greatest need Greenspace Scotland will help reduce inequalities between neighbourhoods.

  • Social Inclusion Partnerships promote social and environmental justice and community capacity building.  Local greenspace partnerships will support this by encouraging involvement and offering opportunities for community development through local action.

  • NHS Health Scotland promotes informal exercise as a way of improving health in support of the Strategy for Physical Activity (Scottish Executive, 2002). A physical activity task force was set up in 2001 to take this strategy forward. Greenspace Scotland will develop links between physical activity and improving the local environment.

  • Greenspaces are a fundamental part of the networks linking towns and cities to the wider countryside. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes statutory rights of responsible access to land and inland water for outdoor recreation. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code provides guidance on exercising these rights. Local greenspace partnerships will help develop green networks and deliver the increased opportunities for enjoyment of greenspace created by the Act.

  • Community Learning and Development: The Way Forward  (Scottish Executive, 2002) recommends that Local Authorities produce Community Learning Plans to address the learning needs of communities and contribute to Government objectives for social inclusion, lifelong learning and active citizenship. Local greenspace partnerships can work with other organisations to create learning opportunities linked to these plans.

Box 2

Bisley Brae Woodland

Tranent, East Lothian

Recently designated as a Social Inclusion Partnership area, local people have been working to improve the local environment with help from EGBT. The woodland on the Green Belt side of Tranent in East Lothian was identified as important to the image of the town. Tree felling, tree planting, wood chipping and the creation of footpaths are just some of the activities that volunteers have been involved in to create a community woodland. 

The project has been used by local pupils to achieve their John Muir Award, and by the Edinburgh City Council’s ‘Green Team’, John Muir Award Tranent group. The 2002 Open Day was organised by Edinburgh Green Belt Trust in partnership with the local community.

  • The Lifelong Learning Strategy (Scottish Executive, 2003) aims to ensure that opportunities for learning include all sectors of society. Local greenspace partnerships will support this by offering opportunities for learning through involvement.

  • Citizenship is a cross-sectoral issue in the Scottish curriculum, and Education for Citizenship in Scotland (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2001) promotes young people’s participation in social and cultural activities. Eco-Schools, an innovative, pupil-driven programme, encourages schools to improve their environment through whole-school action. Greenspace Scotland and local greenspace partnerships can support these initiatives by promoting the involvement of children and young people in environmental projects.

  • The Active Communities Strategy  (Scottish Executive, 2001) aims to increase volunteering and broaden the range of people involved. Ensuring that volunteering and community action are at the heart of greenspace projects is one of the aims of the local greenspace partnerships

Environmental

By encouraging better planning, design and management of greenspaces Greenspace Scotland and local greenspace partnerships will help create urban environments that are healthy, locally distinctive and rich in wildlife.

  • Rethinking Open Space  (Scottish Executive, 2001) spurred the recent publication of Planning Advice Note 65, Planning and Open Space (Scottish Executive, 2003). SNH and Greenspace Scotland will support the implementation of this advice and related national planning policies by promoting better planning and management of open space, delivering improvements and emphasising the need for increased involvement of communities each of these.

  • Linking biodiversity and people is a central theme of the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (Scottish Biodiversity Forum/Scottish Executive, 2003). This emphasis on people aligns closely with a high level of commitment to community participation within local greenspace partnerships.

  • The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) highlighted the need for partnership activity in their Environment Strategy (1998). Greenspace Scotland will encourage well-designed greenspace that can serve a range of environmental functions, such as  improving air quality or contributing to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, in which SEPA have a leading role.

  • The Scottish Forestry Strategy (Forestry Commission, 2000) highlights the role of trees and woodland in improving the environment and enhancing quality of life in and around towns and cities. SNH and Greenspace Scotland will help coordinate action to address these aims. A baseline research project on ‘Woods in and around towns’ (SNH and Forest Enterprise, 2002) will inform how work is taken forward at a national and local level. A recent Wood in and around towns conference has helped to take forward the research.

Box 3

Greenhead Moss Community Nature Park Wishaw, North Lanarkshire

The site, prior to development, had a mixture of environmental and social problems, in part related to previous opencast and landfill operations. The community led project has improved the area by restoring, creating and managing important ecological habitats, developing access opportunities, and encouraging educational use of the moss.

The community is also involved in project management including identifying priorities, seeking funding and resources and steering the direction of improvements.  They are involved in organising on-site activities, from practical conservation work to running park-based events. The success of the project is in part due to a recognition of the need for community capacity building to enable increased local community involvement.

  • Housing Quality (Planning Advice Note 67, Scottish Executive, 2003) highlights the importance of environmental quality, landscaping and home zones. Designing Places (Scottish Executive, 2001) emphasises the need for a joined-up approach when planning new development, focussing on the role of the planning system in achieving this. By working with planning authorities and developers, Greenspace Scotland will contribute to good practice in the planning and design of greenspaces in new developments.

Economic

Greenspace Scotland and the local greenspace partnerships will help make Scotland a more competitive place for business by improving degraded landscapes and stimulating inward investment.

  • Local Enterprise Companies have long been involved in greenspace improvement and the enhancement of vacant and derelict land. In several areas they have worked with, or participated in, local greenspace partnerships. Greenspace Scotland will encourage increased involvement of the enterprise network at national and local level.

  • A Smart, Successful Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2001) identifies investment in developing skills as a key driver for the creation of a competitive Scotland. By working with New Deal providers, the Wise Group, BTCV, the Prince’s Trust and others, local greenspace partnerships will create new training opportunities and help close the opportunity gap by offering vocational training in those areas where the need is greatest.

  • Building Better Cities – Delivering Growth and Opportunity (Scottish Executive, 2003) recognised that ‘greened sites contribute to environmental justice targets and promote investment on adjacent sites’.  Funds are being made available to regenerate vacant and derelict land and improve environmental quality through the creation of distinctive landscapes.

  • Corporate sponsorship provides an opportunity to link business and the environment. This can range from financial and in kind contributions, to corporate volunteering. Corporate social responibility is of increasing concern to many businesses. Through Greenspace Scotland, business can become a partner in both national programmes and local projects that will offer promotional and staff development opportunities.

Box  4

Stoneywood Nature Trail, Aberdeen

This new nature trail was created with the help of local organisations and volunteers including the Rotary Club of Dyce and BP. Volunteers cleared litter and scrub, created a pond and planted native trees. Several footpaths, including a boardwalk, bridges and steps, have been constructed.

Arjo Wiggins Ltd, which owns the land, provided paper for a guide to accompany the trail, and hosted the opening ceremony. Aberdeen Countryside project co-ordinated the works, supervising volunteers and working with the landowners to provide costs for materials.

SNH’s corporate policy context

The GfCI will help deliver SNH’s remit to secure the conservation and enhancement of the natural heritage of Scotland and to foster its understanding and facilitate its enjoyment (Section 1(1) of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991).

SNH’s 10-year Corporate Strategy  (2000) contains three principal themes, of which the second is entitled ‘Enriching People’s Lives’. GfCI is a key mechanism for taking this theme forward, and is a priority area in the ‘Attractive Places to Live’ section. Other corporate priorities to which the GfCI will contribute are:

  • Promoting informal recreational access in and around settlements;

  • Developing involvement in, and commitment to, the natural heritage;

  • Working with communities;

  • Enhancing biodiversity and delivering Local Biodiversity Action Plans.

The GfCI, through Greenspace Scotland and the local greenspace partnerships, will work closely with local authorities, business, voluntary organisations, communities, educational organisations and many other public agencies who have an interest in the management of greenspace in and around towns.

The most recent policy document on SNH's approach to work in and around settlements is the 2002 Natural Heritage Futures Prospectus.  It provides a vision for 2025 in which the natural heritage is seen as making a major contribution to sustainable settlements. GfCI and Greenspace Scotland are integral to achieving that vision.

Box 5

Greening Vacant and Derelict Land in Lanarkshire

CSFT is working with Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire to complete a study of derelict land within Lanarkshire to identify opportunities for greenspace redevelopment on derelict sites. The study is assessing the existing habitat value and this information will be considered by the project partners, including SNH and North and South Lanarkshire Councils, to assess the sites’ potential. The sites could then be developed to create new wildlife habitat and provide open air recreation for local communities. Landscape enhancement can also encourage inward investment, creating new opportunities for training and employment.