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Funding secured to give
City green make over LIVERPOOL has
been awarded nearly ?3.5million to create new green corridors across the City.
Liverpool City Council teamed up with Mersey Forest, the University of Liverpool
and organisations in Valladolid (Spain) and Izmir (Turkey) to successfully bid
for 10 million Euros of Horizon 2020 European funding which will be invested in
creating new green spaces in the City; 4 million Euros, of which (?3.4
million) is specifically for Liverpool.
Over the next 3 years the Liverpool partners will undertake a range of
innovative research projects and work with local communities, organisations such
as the Business Improvement District and other stakeholders to identify and
retrofit a number of 'green corridors' as part of the URBAN GreenUP
project.
Work will start in the New Year when plans for the corridors will be developed.
It is likely the sites which will be transformed will include locations within
the Baltic Corridor, the business and commercial district of the City Centre and
the Jericho Lane / Otterspool areas.
The aim is to tackle environmental City issues through Nature Based Solutions
and to deliver a range of environmental improvements including increasing
biodiversity, improving air quality and alleviating surface water issues. Work
will include planting trees, introducing green walls (also known as vertical
gardens) and establishing rain gardens and sustainable urban drainage systems,
whilst enhancing pedestrian and cyclist routes in and out of the city.
Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Councillor Steve Munby, said:-
"Receiving this funding will allow us to environmentally
enhance some key Vity routes, benefitting the local community, businesses and
the City as a whole, whilst providing an opportunity to adapt parts of the City
so they are more resilient to future climate change impacts. It is incredibly
important to be able to work in partnership, not only with other Liverpool
organisations, but to share information and best practice with other European
Cities which also have environmental improvements high on their agenda. It will
be incredibly rewarding to see these green corridors flourish over the next
three years and make Liverpool an even more pleasant place to live, work and
visit."
The project delivers on the green corridor recommendations in the Mayoral Review
for Green and Open Spaces and will additionally fulfil emerging aspirations in
the development of the City's Local Plan. The proposed environmental
improvements builds on the work of the Mersey Forest over the past 25 years,
providing a valuable opportunity to bring nature back to the urban core, and at
the same time enhance the green infrastructure of the City.
Paul Nolan, Director of the Mersey Forest, said:- "Liverpool has been on
the leading edge of Green Infrastructure planning and delivery for several
years. This is a great partnership and we look forward to helping to deliver
this exciting project with communities and business."
The in depth research, experimental design of technical solutions and practical
testing, together with data analysis, will be undertaken by the University of
Liverpool.
Dr Ian Mell, University of Liverpool, said:- "The URBAN GreenUP project is
a fantastic opportunity to look at what makes an attractive and useful landscape
and how people from all walks of life can reconnect with nature. Delivering the
URBAN GreenUP project will place Liverpool at the forefront of European research
for Nature Based Solutions."
The Green UP project will help to consolidate and promote the green
infrastructure partnership work of the City and Mersey Forest. The funding also
provides an opportunity to promote the City as a focal point for high quality
research in this sector. |
