Big Green Vote launches with £50,000 fund
Telford & Wrekin Council launches its Big Green Vote today which will see a further 96 sites protected from development - extending the Council’s Green Guarantee to cover 200 council-owned sites across the borough.
Residents will be able to cast five votes for their favourite green spaces during a six-week period at https://biggreenvote.telford.gov.uk with the top 50 sites gaining access to a £50,000 fund for enhancements.
Councillor John Minor, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Leisure, Green Spaces and Parks said: “Places to walk the dog, somewhere for the children to run around or just a pleasant spot to have a picnic in the summer, large or small. These are the kinds of green spaces we want to protect in addition to our existing Green Guarantee. Alongside our existing parks and local nature reserves and green network these sites are so valuable to everyone’s well-being today and for future generations growing up in Telford.
“By voting for your favourite place, we can see which sites people value the most and it will help us make sure we are supporting these places in a way that suits the community around it.
“Whether it’s helping to install park benches, plant bulbs, saplings, wild flowers or even supporting a Friends group to get off the ground, the Green Guarantee aims to support all these ideas.”
Our hero, ‘Harley’ is a cute hedgehog making his home in Telford’s green spaces and fronting the campaign which forms part of the council’s commitment to enhance the green infrastructure across the Borough.
This second round of 96 sites brings the total number of Green Guarantee areas to 200 in addition to village greens, Fields in Trust, 47 local wildlife sites, 13 Local Nature Reserves (LNR) and eight Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The project is also in line with the Council’s commitment to promoting health and well-being as living close to accessible green spaces can reduce levels of obesity, heart disease, reduce stress and levels of depression.
Voting will end at midnight on April 15 after which the local residents associated with the top 50 sites will work with the council to help design site enhancements up to the value of £1,000 per site.
Voters will also be entered into a prize draw with sponsored prizes and encouraged to share photographs of their local green spaces when the Big Green Vote joins the Telford50 photograph challenge for six weeks.
The BigGreenVote is funded from Telford & Wrekin Council’s £2m Telford 50 Legacy Fund that supports a mix of physical schemes as well as other projects that help tackle key social issues in the borough and reduce demand on council services.
Almost 1,400 people took part in a consultation in summer 2017 to find out what people wanted to see supported as a legacy of Telford 50 and recreation was one of the most popular themes.
Telford & Wrekin Staff pictured: Front left Richard Taylor-Murison Consultation & Equality Officer; Mark Latham, Ecologist; Tom Cox, Communications Officer;
Back row; Cllr Richard Overton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing & Enforcement; Chloe Wyld, work experience placement; Fran Bache, Funding Officer; Chad Addison, Street, Environmental Volunteers' Coordinator
