On approaching autumn 2020, the world had suffered unprecedented times as a result of the pandemic. Central UK Government recognised that the public had been resilient, industry had coped, while public services were straining.
Under the chancellor, it was recognised that a fund was needed for rapid investment to improve the situation wherever possible. Stratford upon Avon District Council applied and secured a grant from the ‘Get Building Fund’ to deliver something of great value for environment, local residents and town visitors.
The project delivered:
- Local Nature reserve, on a former waste tip
- Children’s cycle play park
- 4Km of wheelchair-accessible nature trails
- Feature river bridges
- Flood alleviation works
- Measured biodiversity increase
- Informative wayfinding and info boards
- Re-established Wetlands
- River Avon bank improvement
- High-standard wildflower meadow
- Rare seed donor site
Three Winning Facts:
- Prioritising Stakeholders- Harnessing the opinions and support of a wide range of stakeholders and project partners was essential. Volunteers, business support, community groups, statutory bodies all came to the table, offered direct help to make it possible. Through the District Council’s central role and LEP support, something special was achieved.
- Leveraging value- Unlike commercially driven projects, this had to drive value from every pound spent for the improvement of biodiversity, residents and visitors. This engendered genuine support and a will to achieve value.
- Turning around 30 years of neglect- The majority of this site had unfortunately been neglected and left unmanaged for some 30 years. This project turned this around and set in motion a legacy fund created by biodiversity offset credits to fund the next 3 decades of planned maintenance.
