GI TAMWORTH, UK

CASE STUDY

Green Infrastructure

Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK

Project Type
Green Infrastructure Strategy
Client
Tamworth Borough Council
Location
Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK
Keywords
  • Multifunctional networks
  • Flood risk, River Tame
  • Duty to Cooperate
  • Gravel pits

Designing a flood resilient town and planning green infrastructure in and around Tamworth, Staffordshire.

Tamworth is located in the south-eastern corner of Staffordshire, bordered by Warwickshire to the south and east, and lies on the edge of the West Midlands Greenbelt. The borough is predominantly urban in character and is punctuated with a variety of green spaces and parks. Having developed alongside the confluence of two rivers, the Tame and Anker, Tamworth has a significant amount of floodplain within the borough.
 
Tamworth Borough Council appointed Lepus to undertake a Green Infrastructure Study to inform the planning and delivery of Green Infrastructure in the Local Plan. The objectives of the Strategy were:
 
  • To ensure that high quality GI is delivered which is accessible, attractive for residents and visitors to Tamworth and which conserves and enhances Tamworth’s special natural and historic environment. Tamworth’s GI should inspire communities, support education and leisure opportunities, and encourage investment from new and existing businesses.
  • To raise awareness of Tamworth’s network of GI assets and the issues affecting the planning and management of GI, including new development, biodiversity offsetting, flood risk management, health benefits and the economic advantages of GI; and
  • To highlight the means by which organisations, communities and partnerships can work together to optimise multifunctionality, create, and sustain robust GI networks across the borough.
 
The Strategy involved the preparation of a comprehensive baseline review of GI assets informed by a stakeholder workshop. Through a policy review and consideration of key issues affecting the borough, the Strategy assessed need, demand and supply factors and created a GI Framework for planning GI in Tamworth.
 
The GI Framework comprises a vision supported by eight guiding principles and accompanying advice for integrating GI into new development. Three strategic borough-wide GI initiatives were suggested along with high level masterplanning recommendations for delivery of GI in the borough during the Local Plan period. Delivery, governance, costs and monitoring are each discussed at a strategic level.

Green Infrastructure is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. To find out more about Green Infrastructure, please visit our services page or click here. 

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