TEP’s Landscape Managers are raising the standard of greenspaces in Leicester by supporting Greenbelt Group Ltd (Greenbelt) in preparing a Management Plan for their site in North Hamilton. The Management Plan will be a crucial element in their application to obtain a Green Flag Award for the site.
Greenbelt manages the greenspace at North Hamilton, which is an extensive Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) scheme, play areas, woodlands, wildflower grasslands and amenity space. Since 2006, Greenbelt has worked closely with the community and Abertay University’s Urban Water Technology Centre to manage the greenspace and its exemplar SuDS scheme. The site is important to locals and offers vital greenspace to over 1,600 residents, giving them somewhere to enjoy nature and use recreationally.
Green Flag Awards recognise and reward good quality parks and green spaces. They also set an aspirational benchmark and are helping to improve the quality of parks and green spaces across the board. However, the main purpose of the Green Flag Awards is to ensure everybody has access to quality green or open spaces, irrespective of where they live.
TEP is working closely with Greenbelt to produce a bespoke management plan for their Green Flag Award application, as well as assisting them through community and stakeholder consultations. This will help embed community engagement into the management of this greenspace and ensure its sustainability. The most recent stakeholder meeting was held in April, with representation from Greenbelt, lecturers from Abertay and Coventry universities, and members of local community groups including Hamilton Residents’ Association, Hamilton Trust, and Hope Hamilton Church. All who attended were keen to contribute ideas around future initiatives and continued engagement.
TEP’s Land Management Team boasts a number of Green Flag Award judges, who carried out an independent assessment of the scheme to gain a better understanding of the site and identify any shortfalls it may have. The results will help inform our management recommendations.
The final stages of the project will see a community questionnaire sent out to the residents at North Hamilton and the wider community. These responses will also be used to inform and shape the recommendations and production of the management plan, ready for their Green Flag Award application later this year.
TEP’s Senior Landscape Manager Sam Marshall commented “Putting North Hamilton forward for a Green Flag Award is a great way of strengthening community involvement in the scheme, whilst also promoting and gaining recognition for the management on one of Greenbelt’s flagship greenspaces. I look forward to working with Greenbelt on their application and helping to realise their vision.”
To learn about other projects our Landscape Managers are involved in click here.
