Mental Health, Wellbeing and the Natural Environment: Case Studies of Four Areas in England
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Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England Sally Brammall, Amanda Norrlander, Kandy Sisya and Louisa Thomson Renaisi May 2020 Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England Table of contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 2. Birmingham case study ......................................................................... 5 3. Hastings case study ............................................................................ 24 4. Middlesbrough case study ................................................................... 47 5. Pendle case study ............................................................................... 67 6. List of documents ................................................................................ 87 7. Organisations and projects that took part in the research ...................... 2 Acknowledgements Renaisi is a social enterprise that supports people and places to thrive. We work with charities, funders, and government to help them deliver greater impact. This report was authored by Sally Brammall, Amanda Norrlander, Kandy Sisya and Louisa Thomson from Renaisi’s Consultancy Team. The research team would like to thank everyone involved with the research – particularly the staff and participants in the projects we engaged with in Birmingham, Hastings, Middlesbrough and Pendle - who helped to support the research activities, giving their time generously to share their experiences. The project was a collaborative effort and we are grateful to Simon Maxwell, Hester Clarke and Kate Hall- Wright from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Harmony Ridgley from Public Health England, Sarah Preston and Hazel Ainsworth from Natural England for their insight and guidance in terms of shaping the study. Renaisi, May 2020 This report and the accompanying report ‘Increasing access and usage of the natural environment to support mental health and wellbeing’ are published by Defra (Defra Project Code BE0154) and are available from the Department’s Science and Research Projects Database at http://randd.defra.gov.uk. While the research was commissioned and funded by Defra, the views expressed reflect the research findings and the authors’ interpretation and do not necessarily reflect Defra policy. Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England Glossary and key terms Ageing Better A programme from the National Lottery Community Fund to support activity which prevents isolation for people aged 50 and over. AONB Area of Outstanding National Beauty BAME Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Big Local A Lottery funded resident-led initiative where 150 neighbourhoods receive £1m of funding over ten years to deliver change in their communities. CCG Clinical Commissioning Group CIC Community Interest Company CLT Community Land Trust Defra Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DfE Department for Education FOPG Friends of Park Group IMD Indices of Multiple Deprivation LDP Sport England Local Delivery Pilot – 12 areas receiving £100m to work on new, systems wide approaches to encourage people to be more active LSOA Lower Layer Super Output Area – a geographic area used in census reporting to improve reporting at a very local level MHCLG Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government NHSE NHS England ONS Office of National Statistics PHE Public Health England TCV The Conservation Volunteers VCS The voluntary and community sector Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England 1. Introduction This document supplements the main research report ‘Increasing access and usage of the natural environment to support mental health and wellbeing’ and contains the in-depth findings from the four case study areas. It covers: • The main characteristics of each area - their population and health challenges. • The features of the natural environment. • Local provision within the scope of the research - activities that can help prevent poor mental health and wellbeing and are for those more at risk (rather than with a diagnosed condition). • An assessment of what the local system of organisations, partnerships, networks and strategies looks like in each location. The write up of the four case studies provides further context for understanding the opportunities and constraints in local systems summarised in the main report. This supplementary report is intended to be of particular use for a range of stakeholders in other local areas who are interested in exploring how to support more at risk groups to access and use the natural environment for the mental health and wellbeing benefits. 1.1. Case study overview Table 1 below shows the differences between the four case study areas by population size, density, area and land use.1 The categorisations are as follows: • Built on: roads, buildings, airports, quarries • Green urban: parks, gardens, golf courses, sports pitches • Natural: moors, heathlands, natural grassland • Farmland: Fields, orchards 1 The land use data is from the Coordination of Information on the Environment codes from the database produced by the Urban Studies and Planning Department at the University of Sheffield. 1 Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England Population Population Built Green Case study Area Farmland Natural size density on urban 268km 4,262/km 68% 21% 7% 3% Birmingham 1,141,400 squared squared 21.2km 4,426/km 15% Hastings 92,855 56% 22% 7% squared squared 53.9km 2,609/km Middlesbrough 140,398 54% 20% 27% 0% squared squared 169 km 539.6/km Pendle 91,405 8% 3% 61% 27% squared squared Table 1: Case study population and land use comparison Table 2 presents key demographic, socio-economic and health data from each case study area. This was drawn from the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015, PHE health profiles, and ONS figures and the 2011 census data on employment, ethnicity and age and was used during the longlisting process of priority areas.2 Ethnicity Un- IMD Life Life Median White Total 2015 employment expectancy expectancy age British BAME (male) (female) Birmingham 39.6% 53.1% 41.9% 7.3% 77.6 82 32.80 Hastings 30.2% 89.3% 6.1% 4.8% 76.6 81.9 42.30 Middlesbrough 48.8% 86.1% 12% 7.4% 75.7 79.9 36.60 Pendle 28.1% 77.2% 20.4% 4.4% 78.1 81.3 39.50 Table 2: Case study demographic, socio-economic and health comparison Considerations when reading this report When reading the case study findings it is important to recognise that the information is based on the interpretations of those who engaged with the research interviews and fieldwork visits. We have indicated in each case study the types of organisations we spoke to, but the main report includes a detailed breakdown of the fieldwork, including how the mapping of opportunities related to an overall framework that encapsulates the diverse nature of this work. The boxes with project examples in this report are all projects that the fieldwork team either visited, interviewed or identified through mapping as part of the research. 2 See the Appendix of the main report for a fuller explanation of the research methodology. 2 Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England The local mapping was intended to give a flavour of what is provided in each area rather than being a comprehensive catalogue of everything that exists. There will inevitably be some omissions – as outlined in the main report, this is not a ‘unified sector’. This means we have not quantified the amount of activity in each case study area but tried, where possible, to give a sense of how widespread some opportunities were. The methodological approach and its limitations are covered in detail in the Appendix to the main report. 3 Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England Birmingham 4 Mental health, wellbeing and the natural environment: case studies of four areas in England 2. Birmingham case study 2.1. Birmingham context The area Birmingham is the UK’s second largest city. It is a multicultural city that celebrates its ethnic diversity. “It’s a lovely city and the thing I like the most is that it is a mixed community.” (Volunteer, Community charity) Birmingham’s industrial heritage has shaped the city landscape. An extensive canal system, formerly a major transport route in and out of Birmingham, is regarded as one of the city’s defining assets. Several interviewees referred to Birmingham’s reputation as ‘the Venice of the UK’. Urban redevelopment has modernised aspects of Birmingham’s city centre. In the last decade, the centrally located Birmingham New Street station has had a design overhaul and a grand project was undertaken to relocate the Library of Birmingham to the west of the city. Some central sections of the canals, such as Gas Street basin, have transformed into social destinations with a vibrant nightlife. Outside of the city centre, Birmingham is made up of neighbourhoods which each have their own community life and identity. Population challenges and at-risk groups Birmingham has a significantly young population, with 46% of its citizens aged under 30 and attracting a large student base via the city’s five universities.3 However, levels of unemployment are high and the area has suffered economically due to the decline of the city’s manufacturing industry.4