Sustainability projects added to Green Street CIL funding proposals through Working Group involvement
- Jul 8, 2021
- 4 min read
Further to ClimateYouChange and Green Street Working Group members, Lewis, Shiraz, Tariq and Celia being involved in developing sustainability featured Working Group project proposals, Zakir Adam, Community Neighbourhood Manager for Green Street, has costed the Working Group CIL proposals and checked for any conflict of interest with the council services and infrastructure team.
We are now happy to report that all of the projects were found to be deliverable, and on the 6th of July were put on the Newham Co-Create site’ (the council site hosting the project submissions), ready to be voted on by residents.
Zakir asked Lewis to write the proposals for the car free day, now called ‘Green Street Day’ which was costed at £12,000 and the Neighbourhood Bike Hangers (£20,000). He asked Celia to do the same with ‘Improvement to Priory Park’ (£20,000) and ‘Tree Planting and Planters’ (£15,000). Zakir then made changes as he saw fit, to make the proposals website ready.
Please see below the project proposals as they appear on the Newham Co-Create platform:
Neighbourhood Bike Hangers - £20,000
Working Group Proposal
Aim:
The aim of the project is to reduce emissions and increase cycling by making cycling more accessible for residents through the provision of bike hangers.
The Bike hangers will be install [sic] in or around Green Street neighbourhood, four bike hangers will be identified by the Green Street Working group to benefit the three ward areas.
Benefits:
Contribute towards a cleaner environment and healthier and more active lifestyle for the residents.
The project will directly impact local residents and the wider community
Bike hangars will contribute towards reduction of car [sic] it will impact the whole community by providing cleaner air for all local residents.
The project will bring new and existing community together through community cohesion.
Priorities: Cleaner environment
Improvement to Priory Park - £20,000
Working Group Proposal
Priory Park being one of the only green spaces in our area we would like to invest in our park that would benefit the whole community.
Aim:
The project would fix the current water fountain, adding picnic benches for families to sit and enjoy the park, installing table tennis tops, installing fruit trees and planters to create a community growing project for local residents to grow fruit and veg.
This project aims to bring local people together to grow food in a dedicated community gardens space. The Pandemic has shown us the benefit of gardening for physical health and mental well being [sic]. We believe that all of our residents have a right to outdoor food growing and gardening spaces. We would like to provide the physical infrastructure for this:
We will provide classes on organic, inexpensive food growing, designed to:
help bring our residents together,
enhance community spirit and promote healthy, outdoor activity
provide residents with free food from these communal facilities.
Benefits
The benefits of this project would increase footfall and the use of the park by all residents
Improve the appearance of the parks.
Combat ASB and Crime.
Priorities: Invest in Parks & Green spaces, Community Safety
Tree Planting and Planters - £15,000
Green Street is presently severely lacking in trees and green living infrastructure.
Aims:
To bring much needed greenery to Green Street by planting trees and the placement of planters with attractive wildflower planting arrangements along our busy high street.
Benefits:
Improved air quality by adsorbing pollutants, intercepting harmful particulates from smoke, pollen and dust and releasing oxygen through photosynthesis, thus reducing the incidence of diseases exacerbated by air borne pollutants.
Just looking at trees has been proven to lower a person’s blood pressure, reducing stress and promoting community wellbeing.
Lower temperatures by providing shade for buildings and people and transpiration cooling (trees release water into the atmosphere) during increasing extreme heat events.
Reducing the impact of climate change, by drawing down carbon into the soil.
The more areas of land covered by concrete, tarmac and paving slabs the greater the risk of surface flooding. With a changing climate, modest garden sizes and little grass outside of the borough’s parks, trees help to reduce this risk, carrying water down into the soil.
Increasing biodiversity, plus help for dangerously dwindling pollinator and beneficial insect numbers, critical to a sustainable food system.
Bringing nature and physical enhancements to a much-loved neighbourhood.
Green Street Day - £12,000
Air quality, health, well being, and happiness are key to a healthy neighbourhood. Unfortunately, most high streets have been designed around cars. On a busy day along Green Street, it is really hard if you want to walk, cycle and breath clean air. A project to educate the community on the priorities of Cleaner Environment and Community Safety.
Aims:
Introduce events that make the whole of Green Street open to cyclist and pedestrian
Community cohesion by building relationship with new and existing communities
Turn the Green Street or 3 streets in each ward areas into an event to promote people
Cleaner environment
Transform the street into convivial public spaces, that promotes sitting/playing/walking
Work with schools and community organisation [sic] in delivering workshops to highlight fly tipping, littering, gardening and better air quality
Clean Up Days to educate the wider community
Bling my recycling station to encourage young people and families through design and art.
Priorities: Cleaner Environment and Community Safety
Finally, Lewis and Celia were asked to prepare PowerPoint presentations to give at the Green Street Community Assembly earlier this evening, the 8th of July, where residents were familiarised with all of the different project offerings, from fellow residents, community groups and the Working Group.
The two-minute per pitch time allocation was just long enough to provide extra information not available on the Co-Create platform. This gave Lewis and Celia the opportunity to help sell the Working Group projects to the residents in attendance at the event.
For ‘Improvement to Priory Park’, Celia was able to use the opportunity to provide information not covered within the tight word count. She gave further details (pre-agreed during Working Group meetings and through agreement with Zakir) of the:
opportunity for residents to choose the fruit trees and fruit bushes,
the creation of micro pockets of wildflower meadowland,
plus the facilities which would be included within the wheelchair accessible community garden to support its effective functioning: composting, secure tool storage and rainwater harvesting.
event attendees were made aware of the proposed inclusive food growing workshops and community events.
We now must hang tight and see what comes of our efforts...
