Net Zero: pledge for quality greenspace to be available within 300m of each West Midlands home

Plans for each West Midlands resident to have access to high quality greenspace within a few minutes walk of their home by 2026 have been unveiled by West Midlands Combined Authority.

The scheme is part of WMCA’s West Midlands Natural Environment Plan and follows the #WM2041 Five Year Plan which sets out how to keep the region on track for reaching net zero by 2041.

In addition to making a commitment to ensuring premium greenspace is available within 300 metres of every West Midlands home, the plan also aims to enhance the region’s biodiversity and protect endangered species.

Mayor Andy Street told BirminghamWorld about the plans while showcasing a project to bring the River Stour back to its natural state.

He said: “It’s all about cherishing and restoring some of our green environment.

“During lockdown we all realised the importance of green spaces and how these areas, including our waterways, are key to our natural environment whilst also really benefiting our physical and mental wellbeing.

“That’s why we’ve drawn up our Natural Environment Plan, which sets out how we’re going to improve and maintain these critical spaces across the West Midlands.

“The plan also recognises how the West Midlands’ natural environment holds huge potential to mitigate the effects of climate change, from reducing the risk of flooding to directly removing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.

“Decades of polluting industry and expansive development on our greenbelt has forced wildlife out, but this plan aims to put a stop to the damage by protecting, restoring, and enhancing the region’s biodiversity for everyone’s benefit.”

How will the Natural Environment Plan be delivered?

The Natural Environment Plan is underpinned by ongoing work to create a £750,000 programme of Community Green Grants, drive tree planting with WMCA’s Virtual Forest initiative, and support the creation of a West Midlands National Park.

New major projects have also been outlined. These are:

• To establish a national walking trail
• Transform Digbeth viaduct into a public green walkway
• Secure funding for the Black Country UNESCO Geopark
• Explore setting up a regional tree nursery to increase the supply of native saplings

Andy added: “It’s about us saying to the government - we know how to tackle this so we’re ready for bidding into national funding, so we’re hoping many things will come from it.”

Councillor Ian Courts WMCA portfolio lead for Environment and Energy and leader of Solihull Council said: “As our climate continues to change, our ‘natural capital’ and nature-based solutions will be key to improving resilience, and through providing a means for us to adapt. Tree planting for example has an important role in providing better places, as well as being a natural flood mitigation measure.”

Are there any projects that are already underway to improve our access to greenspace?

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country have been praised for their Love Your River Stour project, which shows how the Natural Environment Plan will benefit the region.

The project, which has been awarded just under a quarter of a million pounds from the government, will help to transform the River Stour’s banks in Stourbridge and Wolverhampton into wildlife-rich areas and will create jobs and provide training for local people.

Delia Garratt, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country said: “We are pleased to see that the West Midlands Combined Authority recognise and support the need to invest in the natural world and we welcome the launch of the Natural Environment Plan. 

“Two of our landscape-scale urban nature conservation projects are included in the plan as case studies of how working with nature can to tackle the Ecological and Climate crises and improve the health and wellbeing of local communities.”