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Riverscapes An environmental vision for Thurrock 2013-23 Bata Reminiscence and Coalhouse Fort Project Davy Down Trust Resource Centre EWT Chafford Gorges Langdon Hills Country Ngage Nature Park Park & Friends Thames Chase Conservation Thurrock CVS Tilbury Fort Volunteers Tilbury Riverside Visit Essex Project Table of Contents Executive Summary INTRODUCTION i. Environment in Thurrock ii. Riverscapes Approach iii. Principles iv. Achievements so far PART ONE: Making Connections PART TWO: Delivering Change PART THREE: Celebrating Thurrock THE DELIVERY PLAN Executive Summary Thurrock's Vision is set out in the Community Strategy. "A place of opportunity, enterprise and excellence, where individuals, communities and businesses flourish" This is supported by five objectives. 1 Create a great place for learning and opportunity 2 Encourage and promote job creation and economic prosperity 3 Build pride, responsibility and respect to create safer communities 4 Improve health and well-being 5 Protect and promote our clean and green environment The environment is a key priority and Riverscapes is one of the plans that support the delivery of this. Over the last decade Thurrock has seen the delivery of world class environment sites spanning the borough from the RSPB Rainham Marshes to EWT Thurrock Thameside Nature Park. These have transformed the visual and natural environment of their local area, provided social, leisure and recreation opportunities for local people, contributed to the economy, and have helped improve the image of Thurrock. However individual sites are not enough to make the environment function for the long term, help us adapt to climate change, enable species to thrive or maximise the environments economic value. Latest national thinking focuses tackling these issues through a "landscape scale" approach. This recognises the importance of creating a connected environment for our nature and people and that a high quality environment provides a significant contribution to regeneration and the economic life of urban centres. Riverscapes aims to translate this ambition into delivery for Thurrock. It outlines our approach to improving Thurrock's riverside landscapes and their surrounding environment. It embraces the concept that our unique natural places need to connect and function as a whole system to provide the best benefits for people and wildlife. It also recognises that environmental enhancement improves investment and provides opportunities for green skills and employment. Thurrock is fortunate to have many environmental organisations and groups working to make a difference through their own sites and projects. Recognising this strength, the Council has placed partnership working at the heart of Riverscapes and will promote a joined-up approach with its partners by utilising its enabling role as local authority. Riverscapes also recognises that to strengthen our environment we need to engage more people in celebrating and promoting what is special about Thurrock, involve people in decision making about our environmental priorities and empower people to take ownership and support the sites that they value. Riverscapes aims to translate these ambitions for Thurrock into delivery. It will achieve this through three areas of activity: 1. Making Connections - At its heart Riverscapes is a partnership approach, Making Connections formalises Thurrock's role in five cross boundary partnerships which span south Essex and the Thames Gateway. Each partnership will have its own projects, activities and funding bids which extend through the sub region and across the Thames and Thurrock Council is committed to having an active role in their development and delivery. 2. Delivering Change - Building on the existing project delivery and strategic sites Delivering Change is a prospectus of 15 project areas which will be the focus for strategic environmental delivery within the Thurrock boundary over the next ten years. This will include a range of projects which will be developed with local partner organisations and supported by a range of external funding applications. 3. Celebrating Thurrock - The environment is as important for people and the economy as it is for wildlife. Celebrating Thurrock covers five projects to engage local people in the environment around them, empower people to get involved and promote strategic sites and Thurrock as a whole. These areas of activity are overarched by a refreshed natural environment vision and six principles that have been developed with local stakeholders and partners. These will guide project development and delivery over the next decade. The Riverscapes Plan on a page TOP DOWN TOP BOTTOM UP BOTTOM INTRODUCTION Introduction Thurrock's Vision is set out in the Community Strategy, "A place of opportunity, enterprise and excellence, where individuals, communities and businesses flourish" This is supported by five objectives. 1 Create a great place for learning and opportunity 2 Encourage and promote job creation and economic prosperity 3 Build pride, responsibility and respect to create safer communities 4 Improve health and well-being 5 Protect and promote our clean and green environment In 2011 the Government published The Natural Choice - Securing the value of nature. This white paper recognised that a healthy, properly functioning natural environment is the foundation of sustained economic growth, prospering communities and personal wellbeing. It identified three priorities: Protecting and improving our natural environment Growing a green economy Reconnecting people and nature These priorities link closely to to the Council's objectives and Riverscapes has been developed as our prioritised plan to achieve these in Thurrock. Riverscapes sits alongside a suite of initiatives focussed on reconnecting Thurrock to River and the borough wide framework for Big Skies. Environment in Thurrock Thurrock's environment has been influenced by its good location adjacent to one of the world’s most famous rivers; this is reflected in its motto ‘By the Thames to all people of the world…’ Its history and character has always been interwoven with that of the River Thames, something that continues today. The Thames is also home to a rich collection of resident wildlife and is of international natural significance as an over wintering ground for 300,000 waterfowl. Behind these 18 miles of riverfront lies a borough which boasts a diverse green belt covering 60% of its area: a unique combination of atmospheric marshland, ancient woodlands, historic fens and the Mardyke river valley. This distinctive landscape contrasts with a rich and continually evolving industrial heritage that, as a key focus of Thurrock’s regeneration agenda, continues to shape Thurrock’s character: the new London Gateway Port, the Lakeside Shopping Centre complex, the Port of Tilbury and the East Tilbury ex-Bata Factory conservation area to name but a few examples. Strategically positioned with a world city on its doorstep and lying between Essex and Kent, its excellent transport links put six million people within easy reach of Thurrock and its natural environment. Our natural environment provides many opportunities but it also faces many challenges, from growth and development pressures, the impacts of a changing climate and perceptions of its image and quality. Ensuring that our environmental assets are protected and enhanced is good for Thurrock’s people, wildlife and economy. From ensuring its soil quality for growing crops, supporting biodiversity, creating attractive surroundings that attract new businesses and residents, increasing house values, providing resources for industry to supporting healthy living. The environment is crucial to Thurrock’s wider regeneration ambition and integral to the Thurrock vision . "A place of opportunity, enterprise and excellence, where individuals, communities and businesses flourish" The relationship between the Community Strategy and Environment is outlined in Appendix 1 Riverscapes Approach The concept of Riverscapes has been built on the premise that environmental protection and enhancement is a shared privilege and responsibility. It r ecognises the need to maintain our environmental network for it to function properly and prevent fragmentation. It embraces this "landscape scale" approach to environmental strategy as advocated by the white paper, the RSPB’s ‘Futurescapes’ and Essex Wildlife Trust’s ‘Living Landscapes’. Riverscapes is a cross cutting agenda which will help to deliver a range of outcomes for people and the environment. It considers the challenges and opportunities available to Thurrock’s environment and seeks to deliver this through three distinct yet interconnecting programmes. Thurrock's environment is extensive, but it is only part of a much wider landscape system that stretches across South Essex, the Thames and into London. The first part of our approach is recognising Thurrock's position and importance within this wider environment landscape and the contributions we need to make to ensure its wellbeing. These are set out in Making Connections - which outlines the priorities for sub regional project working through five cross boundary partnerships. The second stage in our approach is project delivery within Thurrock. Delivering Change aims to piece together local initiatives to complete a bigger, strategic whole . Improving the environment is a wide ranging challenge and Riverscapes prioritises improvements to the natural environment of our two rivers, the Thames
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