Planning students from The University of Manchester are currently working closely with local sustainability group, Transition Wilmslow, to produce a Green Infrastructure Plan for Wilmslow.
The plan comes at an appropriate time given the recent proposals for large scale development in and around the Wilmslow area, as it provides an opportunity to map the green assets currently available to Wilmslow residents and provide green infrastructure recommendations in light of future developments in the Wilmslow parish.
Student, Jake Crompton, explained “Green Infrastructure is essentially the network of green and sustainable features in Wilmslow that improves our quality of life, and provides resilience to climate change, so any parks, gardens, cycle paths, rivers, pathways, allotments and even graveyards.
"These areas are really important as they provide areas for outdoor relaxation, space and habitat for wildlife with access to nature for people, environmental education, local food production and improved health and well-being.”
The Green Infrastructure Plan forms part of the Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) which is being undertaken by Transition Wilmslow.
Professor John Handley of Transition Wilmslow explained “The objectives of a landscape assessment are to capture the area as perceived by the residents, for instance what are Wilmslow’s distinctive characteristics that give the town its character and which people value.
"It’s a two stage process involving documenting the landscape through existing maps and then through the community coming together to give their judgements on what is important in the town. The LCA really allows a town to celebrate its local distinctiveness but also is essential to inform responsible decision making and is a pre-requisite for the planning of sustainable future landscape making it even more significant at this time."
Throughout the process the university group are actively seeking public consultation and community engagement with residents and interest groups within Wilmslow and has produced a survey to get some opinions on the Wilmslow area regarding green spaces, cycling and allotments.
If you have any comments or queries on the matter of a Green Infrastructure Plan for Wilmslow email Jake Crompton from the University group on.
To find out how to get involved in the Landscape Character Assessment project contact [email protected].
This is a member post by Rachel Corrigan.
