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Neighbourhoods Green

The Neighbourhoods Green project has evolved directly from the conference held in London in December 2003. The conference identified the need to raise the profile of green and open spaces under the ownership and management of social housing providers in London, in order to improve their design, management, use and enjoyment.

It is a partnership project starting in 2004 led by Notting Hill Housing Group and Peabody Trust, part-funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for three years. It is currently supported by CABE Space, English Nature, and Groundwork London, and overseen by a steering group comprised of representatives from housing associations, green space bodies and the Children's Play Council.

Research suggests that there is a strong correlation between poor health, economic and environmental deprivation. Poorer communities tend to live in more polluted, less green, locations. The quality of open spaces within and around social housing has, by and large, declined dramatically since their creation, to the effect that many are in a state of neglect, under-used, or have even become no-go areas.

Of all our urban landscapes, apart from some notable exceptions, those of social housing estates are generally some of our worst. Accumulative disinvestment, the lack of statutory regulations, a haemorrhage of skills, and the competition for parking space are just some of the factors that have contributed to their decline.

A similar decline in public parks has resulted in a range of Government initiatives, many of which are, or could be, relevant to the social housing sector. These include:

• Urban Green Spaces Taskforce
• Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 Open Space, Sport, and Recreation, 2002
• England Biodiversity Strategy, 2002
• CABE Space
• Living Spaces and Liveability funding, 2003
• Sustainable Communities, 2003
• Children's Play Review, 2004

In London, there has been an equally energetic production of strategies and policies of some relevance, including:

• Scrutiny of Green Spaces in London, London Assembly, 2001
• Mayor's Biodiversity Strategy, 2002
• London Plan (Spatial Development Strategy), 2004
• Guide to Preparing Open Space Strategies, 2004

However, there is concern that social housing spaces have yet to merit the attention they deserve, and consequently the focus of these initiatives is largely elsewhere, or does not address the sector at all.

Social housing providers, as regeneration agents, will inevitably become further involved in the creation of new green spaces in housing developments, and concerned about their future use and care. Nevertheless, the legacy of existing housing estates and their landscapes remains. Many stand in areas of poor natural green space provision; the opportunities for contact and appreciation of the natural world are often highly limited.

Social housing green spaces are on the doorstep of millions of people, and could provide them with some of the benefits of a quality park, including a connection with the natural world. There are some good foundations; a range of innovative enhancement projects, both here and in Europe, demonstrate what can be achieved. The active involvement of a number of organisations, such as BTCV, Groundwork, the Wildlife Trusts, and Landlife, in bringing these to fruit, has been crucial. However, it is essential that the context within which housing associations and local authority housing departments operate is fully taken into account before any policies and practices that affect the green spaces under their ownership can be developed.