Development: Barne Barton

Developers: Clarion Housing

Location: Plymouth

Green infrastructure is a key component of the approach to placemaking for Barne Barton, providing good quality open spaces and linear corridors for use by people, wildlife and as part of the surface water drainage scheme.

The approach to community engagement was particularly impressive with existing residents actively involved in the design process, with the views expressed in consultations taken forward into the scheme design.

The Masterplan shows how the regeneration scheme makes the most of its proximity to the Tamar Estuary, which is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and a Special Area for Conservation (SAC), and Blackies Wood, recognised as a ‘Plymouth Biodiversity Network Site’. The scheme makes strong reference to these two sites, designing in views of the Tamar and creating access and wildlife links to Blackies Wood.

A wide range of new multifunctional green infrastructure features will be incorporated into the scheme, contributing to a broad range of wellbeing-focused outcomes, including the creation of open spaces which are welcoming and encourage community interaction, providing views and seating for over 55’s housing, providing a range of play spaces to provide spaces for different age groups of children and increasing natural surveillance to avoid problems with anti-social behaviour. The green infrastructure has been designed to be accessible year round, by including hard as well as soft landscaping, and planting that has been designed with species that are appropriate to the conditions on site and to provide year round interest, for example carefully selecting foliage colour, and including evergreen as well as deciduous plants.

The green Infrastructure provides an increase in opportunities for wildlife and provides more new features than would be required just to mitigate the potential impacts on slow worm, hedgehog and nesting birds. The scheme therefore goes beyond meeting the requirements of wildlife legislation and local and national planning policy.