FUNDING SUCCESS FOR CAMBRIDGESHIRE GREEN VISION

Delivery of the Cambridgeshire Green Vision will take a large step forward this year thanks to securing nearly £2 million for greenspace projects in 2008/09.
The Green Vision is an exciting 20-year plan to improve the quality of life for residents of the county now and in the future. It’s about enhancing the environment for both people and wildlife and responding to planned population growth.

Cambridgeshire County Council, working in partnership with Cambridgeshire Horizons, other local authorities, and statutory and non-statutory conservation organisations, has been successful in securing a proportion of a multi-million pound Government grant to help create new areas of greenspace in Cambridgeshire.

The funding is part of the £14.2 million allocated for 2008/09 from the Government’s Housing Growth Fund (HGF). This fund is provided to help finance the essential infrastructure needed to support the 47,500 new homes due to be built in Cambridgeshire by 2016.

Four greenspace schemes will benefit from this initial grant, they include:

Cambridge Green Necklace
The Cambridge Green Necklace includes a series of projects that will increase greenspace provision around Cambridge and improve access between these greenspaces, linking new and existing communities in the city to the countryside. Partners delivering projects include Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridge City Council, Cambridge Preservation Society, the Wildlife Trust and the National Trust.

Fen Drayton Lakes
Funding will allow the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to continue to manage and develop Fen Drayton Lakes as a high quality nature reserve and visitor attraction.

St Neots Greenspace and Access provision
Huntingdonshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council are working in partnership to deliver enhanced greenspaces for people and wildlife and better access to the countryside in St Neots.

March Country Park
Fenland District Council have received funding to develop a master plan for a new country park in March. Eventually 35 hectares of new informal open space and wildlife habitat will be created.

John Onslow, Cambridgeshire Horizons’ Director for Development and Chair of the Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure Forum said: “I am delighted that we have been able to direct a significant element of the funding to greenspace projects. It is vital that new development is supported by measures such as these to enhance the environment and promote a better quality of life for new and existing residents.”

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Matt Bradney, Lead Member for Planning and Regional Matters, said: “Building new communities is about much more than just bricks and mortar. It is about providing a range of facilities including green areas that can be used for leisure and help encourage local wildlife. Cambridgeshire County Council is pleased that this funding will help us and other organisations create these new areas.”

It is anticipated that further support for these greenspace projects will be secured for 2009-2011 once further allocations of the Housing Growth Fund are confirmed.
ENDS

Notes for Editors:

For further information contact Cambridgeshire County Councillor Matt Bradney, Lead Member for Planning and Regional Matters, on 01954 204347 or 07739 393137 or David Bethell, Greenspaces Officer, Cambridgeshire County Council (01223) 71450.

For further political contacts for Environment and Community Services: Liberal Democrat spokes Judy Broadway on 01359 244047; Labour spokes Elizabeth Hughes on 01223 313764.

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