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This section aims to help Stocksbridge's local communities work out what they might do to change their local green spaces. It shows how it would be possible to re-make them so that they are more supportive of daily and special outdoor activities.

People places - spaces outside the home - making the most of local green and open space

The needs of the fit and healthy in relation to the provision and type of green space in the local residential environment

A series of freely available online "ideas sheets" relating to the design and management of local public and in particular green spaces have been prepared by Anne Beer of Map21 Ltd - see below. You can look at this information online and print out anything you find useful or interesting (but if you use it in a publication you must reference the source properly). These notes suggest ways of looking at the link between people and the green spaces in their local built environment:

Find out about the socio-economic characteristics of your district by using the Information about your area from the National Statistics - Click through to this page and then fill in your postcode.

The special needs of the very young and those with mobility problems

Designing places to play near and around the home - how green spaces can be made more supportive of children's needs

Designing places near the home where the elderly and less able-bodied can enjoy being outside and using green spaces


The above studies have been prepared by a landscape designer who was brought up in Stocksbridge (C. Higham). They are based on long term studies by Anne Beer

 

drawings © C, Higham

How to make change happen and related information

This website contains information on how to go about changing your local greenspaces. Over sixty examples of community based projects are included in this website (click below to view):

Developing a Green Space Strategy

Although all sorts of individual greenspace projects are possible in an area like Stocksbridge, which has no shortage of green spaces; prioritising the work is vital. To do this a green space strategy needs to be developed for the whole township of Stocksbridge and its surrounding agricultural land. Such a strategy will set out the overall objectives for the total area and what this means for each of its parts - neighbourhoods and open unbuilt areas.

To get an idea about what can be done take a look at the work on greenspace being done in a nearby town - Wakefield. Their green space strategy is considered by CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment - the national organisation for improving greenspaces) to be one of the best in England at the moment. See how the local people in that area have been involved and the sort of strategies needed to make change happen in Stocksbridge.

Getting design ideas

Once the strategy is worked out the community can get ideas about how to proceed to the design and implementation phases by having a look at the information available on internet. See in particular that produced by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment - the national organisation for improving greenspaces. Start with the Park - creating sustainable urban green spaces in areas of housing growth and renewal. You can download this as a .pdf.

Also have another look at the section with ideas about Greenspace Design on this website

Making change happen

Support is available

To get things moving and enhance the green spaces in the built-up areas of Stocksbridge, the Steel Valley Project has identified various forms of help for local community groups:

Local green space projects can be supported, which aim to benefit the local population and visitors to the area. Schemes can be undertaken to:

There is information on this website showing what is involved in

  • implementing specific projects (for instance, making a wildflower garden, planting an area of trees and shrubs, or making a play feature, and lots of other small and large-scale projects). The web pages on this website were prepared by a local specialist, Jim Flanagan. They are based on local research in Stocksbridge as well as on projects being carried out elsewhere in Sheffield - Manor and Castle area and by the Sheffield Wildlife Trust.
  • funding, which can be applied for from various sources: Sheffield City Council and other public bodies such as South Yorkshire Forest, Yorkshire Forward, Countryside Agency, as well as on occasion from private businesses
  • skills development training, which is available to local people wanting to work on their local landscapes and enhance them for their community.

  • enhance the level of biodiversity - through changes in the management of the existing land cover (woodlands, shrub areas, rough grass areas, mown areas, wetland and water courses)
  • enhance the visual attributes and so improve the overall appearance of the green spaces and built-up areas of town
  • add to the recreational potential of the local landscape (by making pathways which encourage walking - for health and pleasure)

People place - ideas sheets

  1. Background information

  2. Special needs of:

Role of greenspace in

  1. health
  2. education
  3. well-being

Greenspaces which support particular recreational activities and make special places to use and visit near our homes

  1. Start with thePark (.pdf) advice from CABE
  2. Making a Greenspace Plan - a local example - Wakefield

to do

How to start projects

  1. Making change happen

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Text, Maps and Photographs (unless stated otherwise) © Steel Valley Partnership Stocksbridge, all rights reserved. Terms of use: Any involved in education or training may copy the contents of these web pages, with the proviso that they always make reference to the original copyright.

 

© The Steel Valley Project , C/O STEP Business Centre, Wortley Road Sheffield S36 2UH
Tel: 0114 2830880/2903680 Fax: 0114 2903605
Web pages by Map21 Ltd - latest update 10 August 2005