Wiltshire's green spaces

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Green Infrastructure

Wiltshire Council is beginning work on the preparation of a Wiltshire Green Infrastructure (GI) Strategy to meet the requirements of national and regional policies, the Wiltshire Local Area Agreement and to provide the framework and evidence base for more detailed GI policies to be included in the emerging Wiltshire Council Core Strategies and Local Development Documents. Work on the Strategy will be undertaken during 2009/2010.

What is green infrastructure?

Green Infrastructure can mean different things to different people and there are a number of definitions available. For the purposes of the Wiltshire Strategy, the following definition is proposed:

‘Green Infrastructure (GI) is a strategically planned and delivered network that comprises the broadest range of high quality ‘natural’, created and managed multi-functional green spaces, access corridors and other environmental features, that integrate biodiversity, landscape, the water environment, ecological processes and cultural heritage and which enhance the health and quality of life of sustainable communities. Green Infrastructure applies both to urban and rural areas and to the urban fringe.’

In the wider countryside, green infrastructure is often viewed at a larger scale encompassing extensive areas of habitat, major landscape features such as river corridors and the identification of wide green corridors and ecological networks. Green Infrastructure at this scale can provide the wider framework and context for planning green infrastructure at a more local level. This interconnected network operates at various spatial scales, across towns and villages, out beyond the urban fringe and into the wider countryside.

Green infrastructure is particularly relevant to the housing and economic growth agendas and to the regeneration of urban areas. It is about development going hand-in-hand with the protection and enhancement of existing environmental assets and the creation of new ones. It is about placing the environment at the centre of the planning process and creating a strategic and linked, multi-functional network of green spaces with benefits to people and wildlife. It is also about underpinning the sustainability of urban areas, enabling then to become resilient to the effects of climate change.

The key themes of Green Infrastructure planning are ‘multi-functionality’ and ‘connectivity’. Multi-functionality is the ability of each green space to provide a range of different functions or ‘services’, for instance enhancing biodiversity and providing flood retention and recreational opportunities. Connectivity is about considering how green spaces and corridors link together as an integrated network for people and wildlife.

What can Green Infrastructure contribute?

Well planned Green Infrastructure, encompassing new and enhanced sites and habitats:

• contributes to high quality and accessible landscapes benefiting people and wildlife, strengthening the links between urban areas and their surrounding countryside and creating attractive and accessible places for people to enjoy direct and regular contact with the natural environment;
• plays an essential role in maintaining and enhancing the health of the natural environment by increasing ecological connectivity, overcoming habitat fragmentation and increasing the ability of the natural environment to adapt to climate change;
• supports healthier lifestyles by bringing the natural world into neighbourhoods with benefits for individual and community health and well being, for instance by providing green routes for walking and cycling, and green spaces for exercise and play;
• supports the efficient management of water, helping to reduce the likelihood of flooding through the appropriate management of permeable ground and the provision of flood storage areas;
• Supports functioning ecosystems and robust natural systems helping to deliver a wealth of ecosystem services such as water, clean air, soil, and the maintenance of biodiversity.

Green Infrastructure Mapping

An interactive GIS based mapping tool setting out the main Green Infrastructure in Wiltshire Councils administrative area will be developed as part of the evidence base for the strategy.

Types of Green Infrastructure Considered

GI assets considered in this strategy will include:

• Amenity green spaces;
• Play areas, sports pitches, allotments and cemeteries;
• Nature reserves (including those with European, national and local protection);
• County Wildlife Sites;
• Country parks
• Town parks
• Water courses and water bodies (‘blue infrastructure’);
• Rights of way and other designated cycle/horse/pedestrian routes including long distance trails;
• Woodlands and other semi-natural green spaces;
• Linear green routes;
• Open access land;
• Historic parks and gardens;
• Areas of archaeological and heritage landscape importance.

The strategy will also consider environmental/countryside projects and initiatives that enhance green infrastructure in Wiltshire.

Geographical Coverage

In developing the spatial context for a Green Infrastructure network, this strategy will cover the full extent of Wiltshire Council’s administrative area. It is, however, implicit within the definition of Green Infrastructure that there is a need to look beyond Wiltshire’s boundaries to assess GI provision for Wiltshire communities and the impact of adjacent settlements on GI within Wiltshire.

Last updated: 16 February 2011