Land Regeneration
The NWDA plays a key role in enhancing the natural economy, supporting
this through its activities to regenerate brownfield land and
create new strategic green spaces. The aim of the NWDA is to
regenerate land in a sensitive and
sustainable way, as set out in the Regional Economic
Strategy.
Regenerating land improves the quality of life of residents,
whilst making the region more appealing to investors; resulting in
the three-fold effect of improving the environmental, social and
economic well-being of the region.
New areas of strategic green space - which work towards
increasing and enhancing the green infrastructure in
the Northwest - will attract inward investment, create jobs and
provide enhanced facilities for communities.
The NWDA is involved in a number of land regeneration
programmes, including:
Newlands
The NWDA launched its £59 million Newlands regeneration scheme
in 2003, in partnership with the Forestry
Commission. The scheme is regenerating over 900
hectares of brownfield land; reclaiming derelict, underused and
neglected land across the region and turning it into thriving
community woodlands.
The latest project being undertaken through the Newlands
programme is the £8 million development of Brockholes
Wetland and Woodland Reserve - a new natural visitor
attraction on a former gravel extraction site near Preston, which
is expected to attract thousands of people from across the
Northwest, giving an economic boost to the local area.
Working with the site’s owners, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust,
the programme will transform the 106 hectare site into a wealth of
habitats, including lakes, reed beds, flower-rich grassland. It
will also link to 66 hectares of ancient woodland.
The Brockholes site will include the creation of a sustainbly-built visitor
centre - housing retail selling local produce, a restaurant,
education and exhibition areas and event space - which will float
on one of the lakes. The visitor centre design chosen through an
international architectural competition and has since been endorsed
by a successful Design
Review hosted by Places Matter!.
Work on the project began in Spring 2009. Planning permission
for the visitor centre has been granted and building work is
expected to start in October 2009. The completed reserve and
visitor centre is expected to be open for visitors by 2011.
REMADE, Lancashire
The Agency has allocated up to £21.6 million to Lancashire’s
REMADE programme (REclamation and MAnagement of DErelict land). Led
by Lancashire County Council, the aim of the scheme is to reclaim
300 hectares of this derelict land by 2011.
The brownfield land to be transformed in the programme is made
up of former industrial sites, quarries, old railways, disused
reservoirs and tips. Current work being carried out by REMADE
includes the creation of Fishwicks Bottom Local Nature Reserve. The
first two sites within the nature reserve have been completed and
the third stage extension is in the planning stage.
REVIVE, Cheshire
REVIVE (Regenerating the EnVironment InVests in the Economy)
aims to bring 170 hectares of brownfield land back into beneficial
use to provide green infrastructure in the Cheshire and Warrington
sub-region. The NWDA is investing up to £17.5 million over the next
15 years to support projects such as Bewsey Tip in Warrington,
Chester to Mickle Trafford Greenway in Chester and Woolston New Cut
in Warrington.
At Bewsey Tip, the REVIVE project is regenerating 17.35 hectares
of former landfill to provide public green space for
multi-recreational use. A 3.3 km-long disused railway line between
Chester and Mickle Trafford will be transformed into a vehicle-free
track for use by walkers, cyclists and horse riders. At Woolston
New Cut, 6.4 hectares of land is being turned into an Urban Ecology
Park. The site - which includes a former glue works, a landfill
site and a section of contaminated canal - will embrace creation
conservation through the use of innovative techniques, recycled
products and an ecological approach to new landscapes.