Green Urban Landscape Policy for Council Maintained Land
Redbridge Council has approved a Green Urban Landscape Policy for Council Maintained Land that has created a plan for managing and improving Council greenery across the borough. Greenery includes trees, shrubs (bushes), planters (flower beds on the street) and grass areas. These natural assets are very important in an urban area like Redbridge. They provide spaces for us to enjoy being in nature, spaces that encourage outdoor activity, allow people to meet, and improve our well-being.
The ultimate goal of the policy is to protect, manage and improve the Council’s natural resources to meet the Council’s biodiversity aims, to help make the London Borough of Redbridge a great place to live, and work towards a more equitable distribution of Council greenery across the borough.
In January 2021 a period of consultation was completed on Redbridge’s consultation hub that sought residents’ views on managing and improving Council owned trees, shrubs, planters and grass areas across the borough.
A large number of responses from across the borough were received and we would like to thank the 483 people who took the time to complete the survey to give us their views. The views expressed helped identify priorities that formed the basis of the Policy.
Overall, there was an interesting balance of concerns between the environmental factors and the social benefits of maintaining and improving greenery in the borough. Air quality was an issue of great concern, along with improving spaces for wildlife. On the social side, providing spaces to be in nature and making the borough a nicer place to live, were the top goals.
There was a call to integrate nature throughout the borough in small ways, with street trees being a top favourite for future investment, followed by pocket parks. Meadow banks and woodland areas also have strong support. Planting more trees in areas that currently do not have many emerges as a top priority, as well as planting along busy roads.
The Green Urban Landscape Policy for Council Maintained Land (PDF 4.3MB) identifies an action plan that includes tree and shrub planting targets, increasing grow zones on streets, expanding street tree adopting and reducing damage to greenery. If you would like to receive updates on our progress please subscribe to the Our Streets newsletter or check back here for updates on the action plan.
For further information about the council's management of the green urban landscape please follow links to our website pages for council trees, adoption and watering of council trees and council grass, shrubs and weed control.
