On behalf of the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership, Essex County Council commissioned LUC to prepare a bid for Government investment in South Essex’s green infrastructure through the ‘Parklands’ fund.
South Essex is part of the Thames Gateway and includes large areas of industrial land, much of which is no longer needed, and where there is considerable regeneration potential. The ‘Parklands’ initiative was designed to ensure that an attractive landscape was created alongside new communities, protecting existing habitats and creating new features and places which appeal to people and wildlife. The purpose of Parklands was to provide healthy recreation for the Gateway’s new and existing residents, like a modern day national park. A network of attractive landscapes and natural habitats, it will also support new communities through natural functions including flood attenuation and climate control.
LUC adopted a robust, methodical process in order to maximise the funding allocated to South Essex, and also to help ensure projects put forward were deliverable. We undertook a two-stage screening of suitable projects, whereby each project was assessed against a range of criteria. These criteria incorporated Green Book appraisal, the Treasury’s official assessment approach for projects which wish to receive government funding.
A key part of this process was the projects database we put together for the client. The database was used to record all data about each project, and how it met the screening criteria, enabling projects to be ranked with ease. The database also enabled headline statistics to be readily generated, such as the overall area of green space that would be created if all projects were implemented.
The other important element of our approach was to secure the support of delivery partners in South Essex, whose partnership working was essential to the success of both our funding bid, and the long term viability of the Parklands initiative. We secured their support through regular meetings with a group of partners, which included representatives of all local authorities and key non-government delivery bodies in the sub-region.
The timescale for funding bids was very short, so the LUC team had to progress the South Essex bid quickly and efficiently. We managed to secure the confidence of the project partners early on, which was essential to enable us to lead the bid and make major decisions in a timely manner. The time constraints engendered camaraderie amongst both the partners in South Essex and our counterparts in East London and Kent, and we worked closely with a range of partners to delivery a quality business plan.
LUC secured an excellent outcome for South Essex, winning £11.5 million to fund five Parklands projects across the sub-region. The recent Nature Improvements Areas (NIAs) will need to complete similar business plans through the same process in order to secure Government funding. LUC is keen to apply our knowledge to support NIAs in this.
Download the business plan here
