Green Infrastructure (GI) encompasses a wide range of natural and semi-natural features such as parks, fields, gardens, and entire ecosystems like wetlands and waterways. GI improves connectivity, links habitats, provides recreational space, and contributes to the health and wellbeing of communities.  Integrating GI into a broader network helps to mitigate against climate change and provides a holistic approach to placemaking, enabling the delivery of high-quality places for people and wildlife.

Working on behalf of Flintshire County Council, our work began at the start of 2023 with two initial pilot Green Infrastructure Audits for the towns of Shotton and Buckley. Following this successful first commission, LUC has since completed a further three studies for Holywell, Connah’s Quay, and Queensferry and we are currently working on Mold and Flint. This work is supported by Flintshire’s UK Government shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) project: ‘Flintshire Town Centre Investment Programme’. It identifies evidence-based opportunities to protect and enhance GI, and to guide future investment and delivery of GI and its associated benefits.

Our audits establish a baseline of existing GI and identify ten bespoke interventions for each town centre to enhance the wider environment and strengthen the GI network. The interventions will work to:

• Create climate and flood-resilient town centres
• Establish thriving towns where people want to visit, live, work, shop, and play.
• Develop increased green space and enhance biodiversity.
• Make town centres people-focused, better connected, and accessible to encourage active travel.
• Enhance the public realm with attractive features that build on heritage to attract visitors.
• Tackle noise and air pollution.
• Increase opportunities for people to connect with nature.
• Promote healthier, more resilient, biodiverse and sustainable communities.

Flintshire County Council is already seeing positive benefits from our audits and subsequent investment in its Green Infrastructure network:

• LUC identified Ysgol Croes Atti Primary School in Shotton town centre as an appropriate location for an engagement programme focused on embedding GI and water efficiency messages into the school curriculum. The school is in an urban area with busy roads close by and has little canopy cover. Following LUC’s recommendations, Flintshire County Council collaborated with the school and installed living green screens to mitigate air pollution and serve as a model for integrating GI in urban educational settings. This project has also supported the council’s air quality monitoring programme.
• LUC’s GI Audit in Queensferry set out a series of recommendations for appropriate street tree planting within the town centre. As part of a Welsh Government Transforming Towns grant, Flintshire County Council has recently introduced an avenue of semi-mature street trees to the high street creating a ‘gateway’ to the town. 

LUC’s GI Audits have acted as a catalyst for change, and by working together with Flintshire County Council, we have created step changes and impact at community level. The lasting benefits of this work will increase green space, enhance biodiversity, improve residents’ wellbeing, and contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change.