Issue - decisions

RESOLVED that: -

(a)           Cabinet agrees to BCP Council becoming a partner within the Stour Valley Park Partnership; and

(b)           Cabinet note that a Stour Valley Park Landscape Strategy will be developed for Autumn 2021 and recommended to Cabinet for adoption. A more detailed landscape masterplan will be developed by Spring 2022.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Environment, Cleansing and Waste

Reason

BCP Council is one of the leading organisations contributing towards the Stour Valley Park Partnership and a significant landowner within the landscape. To fully contribute towards the development of the strategy it is important that the council is a member of the partnership.

Other partners include Dorset Council, Natural England, Bournemouth University, Environment Agency, National Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Wessex Water, Bournemouth Water, Stour Catchment Initiative, Public Health Dorset, RSPB, Dorset Local Nature Partnership, Wessex Water and The Parks Foundation.

The Stour Valley Park Partnership is a partnership of organisations with an interest in the natural environment and should not be confused with the Stour Valley and Poole Partnership, which provides revenue and benefits services to local government in the area.

The Future Parks Accelerator Project was adopted by BCP as a key project following LGR. BCP is one of eight city regions to be nationally funded through the FPA for its proposals to develop sustainable parks for the 21st century. One key output will be a new Stour Valley Park Strategy 2021.

The Stour Valley Park Partnership and Strategy will create landscape scale management opportunities to: enhance access to green space, mitigate climate change, increase biodiversity, improve water quality, develop active travel networks, benefit health and wellbeing and enhance our tourism offer.

The Stour Valley Park Strategy will inform the emerging BCP Council Green Infrastructure Strategy and Local Plan.

Covid19 has highlighted the public need for greater access to green spaces, it is therefore an opportune moment to embrace this ‘at scale’ opportunity to boost recovery.