ERDF style Green Infrastructure. Martin Moss. Senior Advisor, Green Infrastructure Operations England.

What is ERDF looking for? Specific Objective 6.1 sets the scene. “Investments in Green and Blue Infrastructure and actions to support the provision of ecosystem services on which businesses and communities depend to increase local natural capital and support economic growth”. But there is a context; “Outside of the farmed landscape”; “Targeted improvements in the urban environment through an increase in the area of Green Infrastructure”. ERDF intended to compliment EAFRD (Countryside Stewardship) but spatially to be mutually exclusive – The Demarcation Issue..

So ERDF is looking for; Green AND Blue infrastructure (Land and water) in the “non- farmed landscape”. That delivers Ecosystem Services. That benefit Businesses and communities Builds Natural Capital. And Supports economic objectives.

So what are Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital? Need to understand; What GI is about. What Ecosystem Services are about. What Natural Capital is about. A complex cloud of competing conceptuality? How do these things relate to each other? ERDF uses the GI definition from the National Planning Policy Framework. “A network of multi-functional green space, urban and rural, which is capable of delivering a wide range of environmental and quality of life benefits for local communities”. But is that very helpful?

Green Infrastructure is about working with nature to provide services and benefits for people and the economy. GI is a critical infrastructure just like transport. It consists of series of individual components that together deliver multiple services and benefits for humans, and homes for wildlife. Need people to see GI as an infrastructure in its own right.

Key elements of GI – Nature doing a job. Green = something to do with nature - GI is about working with nature. Infrastructure – provides a service - There to do a job. Therefore need to know; What GI is needed. What job it is needed for. Where it needs to be to deliver the benefits.

Not The National Grid …………The Natural Grid This is not Grey …………… It’s Green (and blue!).

Relating GI, Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital Type. EVAPO- TRANSPIRATION CARBON SEQUESTRATION PARTICULATE FILTERING GI TYPE / Feature GI FUNCTIONGI BENEFITGI VALUE (£) CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION - URBAN COOLING CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION IMPROVED AIR QUALITY £ REDUCED AIRCONDITIONING COSTS/HEALTH £ MARKET VALUE OF CO 2 STORED £ REDUCED HEALTH COSTS From biodiversity to value. Biodiversity The thing Ecosystem Services The “So what factor”. Natural Capital The bottom line.

Focus of investment for PA6d. All PA6 GI projects need to contribute towards biodiversity priorities with a particular focus on water, grassland and woodland habitats. In addition projects need to deliver at least one socio- economic benefit from a list. This list is effectively a high level options list for required GI Ecosystem Services / Benefits. Flood and water management. Water and air pollution management. Economic growth and investment. Health and well-being (Recreation if linked to growth benefit). Provision of products from the land. Climate Change adaptation and mitigation. In other words – Biodiversity doing a job.

GI contribution to economic objectives - The evidence base – Micro Economic Benefits of Investing in the Environment. Extensive, increasing, multi- disciplinary – but still early days. Many research questions are being identified as gaps in understanding become apparent. BUT … Natural England have compiled a broad literature review. First published in 2012 – MEBIE 2 published Thorough review of literature on the benefits of investment in the natural environment. k/publication/32031http://publications.naturalengland.org.u k/publication/32031 PA6 does not oblige you to prove the economic outputs of a project. Output indicator relates to Ha of land brought into “higher conservation status”. However, PA6 calls may ask for projects to demonstrate their relationship with local growth objectives.

GI supporting Growth. Defra / Natural England report by Eftec – 2013 Green Infrastructure’s contribution to economic growth – a review. Found that GI can support economic growth in range of ways, including; ult.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More& Location=None&Completed=0&Project ID=19056http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Defa ult.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More& Location=None&Completed=0&Project ID=19056 Attracting inward investment. Increasing visitor spending (increased footfall). Providing environmental cost savings (pollution filtration, flood risk management etc). Health improvements leading to increased productivity. Market sales (products from the land). Employment generation (Green Space sector accounts for 5% of jobs in England).

GI as an employment sector - A recent study in Greater Manchester. A study in Greater Manchester is 2013 estimated that the GI sector involved; 15,000 jobs linked to, or dependant upon Green Infrastructure. A sector generating £470 million GVA for the local economy. Averaging £31,000 GVA/Full time equivalent jobs. The new EU Green Growth Opportunity. Greater Manchester Briefing. Natural Economy Northwest Investment Forum. August urces/The_new_EU_green_growth_opportu nity_Greater_Manchester.pdfhttp:// urces/The_new_EU_green_growth_opportu nity_Greater_Manchester.pdf

Challenges with accessing PA6d. Minimum grant threshold of £500 K. ERDF is new to many organisations and PA6 is new to ERDF / DCLG. Demarcation with EAFRD – you need to be looking at the right sort of land. Short 6 week call durations. Probable need for partnership “warm up period” – being ready for the call before its issued. “Oven ready” projects – no project development grant.

So what might be involved in an ERDF GI Proposal? Experience so far … Partnership – probably need to work as a consortium. Supporting evidence to provide clarity on outcomes sought – What GI and where – but also WHY. A spatial proposition – how will the proposed investment relate to local strategic objectives (planning and economic). A programme of strategic interventions – a collection of interventions linked to the spatial proposition.

Don’t forget to use your local GI strategy ! It’s there to help you. GI Strategy can; Provide evidence. Show strategic fit – policy and spatial plans. Enable partner support – GI strategies have wide stakeholder buy in. Strategic bids can be developed on the basis of local GI Strategy – set out what the investment would do to contribute toward its delivery. Help to put your case.

Some other examples of strategic approaches being taken elsewhere:

Example project 1 – PA6 within Sustainable Urban Development Strategies. Liverpool City Region. The Liverpool City Region GI Framework (Nature at Work) was used to provide the backing evidence for developing ERDF related GI proposals (Prospectus of investable projects) in the context of priorities set out in the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP). SEP + GI Framework = Strategic projects programme.

Defined the key benefits sought from ERDF GI investment in Liverpool City Region. Core ecosystem services / GI Benefits sought. Nature + job

Reviewed the spatial strategic economic investment interests in the SEP.

Developed a GI projects Prospectus for ESIF delivery – assessment process. A long list of 90 sites and their issues – investment risk such as poor image, flood risk, contamination and climate change impacts. Can GI help? What GI interventions could help address the issues? What GI benefits might be delivered (economic growth, health and climate change adaptation and mitigation). Criteria used to create a ‘short list’ of Strategic Investment Areas (SIA) where GI projects might help secure investment. The delivery costs identified. Estimated economic value of GI interventions in terms of new jobs and Gross Value Added (GVA) was then calculated.

Developed the short list – most promising places. Criteria based assessment – There are issues in the SIA that green infrastructure can help resolve. Partners are willing to engage in a Strategic Alliance to implement GI. Partners are willing to use their investment as match funding. The sites are ready to progress and they can deliver significant outputs for ESIF.

Proposed outputs. Total number of jobs attributable to GI – 227. Total investment made by investors in buildings and infrastructures - £163 million. Total cost of GI interventions - £10.8 million. Area of GI created – 91 Ha. GVA from GI interventions - £17.9 million. Impact of local property value - £207.7 million uplift. Wider economic (non-GVA) benefits £176 million. Cost per job - £47,651 Cost per Ha - £118,894

Example project 2 – Strategic programme proposal in current programme. Black Country Blue Network. Seeking to; “Improve habitat quality and ecological networks by investment in GI along the area’s waterways and linked green space”. Partnership proposition involving. Black Country Local Authorities. Environment Agency. Canal and Rivers Trust. Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust. Source of match funding.

Strategic context leading to strategic programme of delivery. Based on previous strategic initiatives including; Black Country Urban Park. Black Country Nature Improvement Area. These provided the strategic context. Partnership developed a programme of specific proposals within the strategic context. 13 specific projects. Total programme value - £3.88 million. Total ERDF requested - £1.73 million.

Key outcomes – A multi-functional product – nature doing a job. Nature - Improved habitats and connectivity. Doing a job – broad benefits; Encouraging healthy lifestyles. Access to nature. Attracting investment improved quality of urban landscape and area image. Improved quality of life. Climate change – flood and water management, urban heat island. Outputs – 11 Ha rehabilitated land. 191 Ha of land in “better conservation status”. Due to deliver by 31 st Dec 2018

GI as Natural Capital – Beam Parklands example

Here’s one we made earlier – GI as Natural Capital. Beam Parklands. Owned by The Land Trust. Located in East London. A previous ERDF investment. A 53 Ha site. Previous flood protection asset protecting local businesses, homes and power station. But a problem site.

Something had to be done … Investment mix. Inputs – ERDF - £1.5 million. Environment Agency - £1 million DCLG funds (Parklands) - £1.9 million. Landfill tax credits - £0.25 million Barking and Dagenham Council £50,000 Outputs – A brownfield site transformed by taking a Green Infrastructure approach. 12 Ha of Priority Habitat created. 2 km River Beam restoration. 30,000 cubic metres of additional flood storage capacity.

Key Functions delivered by the site. Nature - Connecting and enhancing biodiversity habitats. Doing a job; Creating opportunity for access to nature. Promoting opportunity for recreation and play. Remediating previous land fill sites. Improved flood water management. Adaptation to climate change.

The balance Sheet – Beam Parklands Natural Capital Account (Eftec for GLA Nov 2015) Net Present Values over 99 years. Flood damage costs avoided - £19 million. Local community benefits - £26 million. Total £42 million (adjusted for costs) and lots of biodiversity too. Change due to investment – Net Natural Capital Asset value £21 m Gain due to investment = £10 m Gain due to local population growth - £12 m Gross NCAV - £43 m Liabilities - £1 m Net NCAV - £42 m

ERDF investment can; Increase and improve local Green Infrastructure. Boost its ability to deliver local ecosystem services. Help build local Natural Capital. Benefit local communities and businesses. Improve the local Natural Capital Balance sheet – its worth it ! Its also worth working together to make it happen - good luck !

Where to start? We don’t have to start from scratch – D2N2 previous work.

Strategy Coverage in D2N2 Area:

6Cs strategic network and funded schemes:

Erewash Valley: A 30 mile circular walking and cycling route that is: Helping promote regeneration of former industrial landscapes Creating a brand identity which local communities and businesses recognise and value Working with NHS partners to engage local communities and deliver health and wellbeing benefits Delivering on Lawton Principles of bigger, better and more joined up

Thank you and questions.