In accordance with the aspirations set out in the Government’s Housing Green Paper, and to avoid public resistance to development, future growth of the West of England Sub Region should only take place if development is delivered with an appropriate infrastructure, including GI, to support the new communities and employment.

To support this, it is fundamentally important that when planning the location, nature and scale of development in the West of England Sub Region, GI should be an integral part of this from an early stage, with GI networks incorporated into Core Strategies, Local Development Frameworks, Master Plans and subsequent contracts.

As well as addressing future development, GI also needs to be planned, delivered and managed to maximise its benefits to existing populations. GI assets can support many functions simultaneously; enhancing its many social, environmental and economic functions will require a strong collaborative approach for implementation of GI strategies and the maintenance of GI assets, including cross-boundary and cross-sector working.

GI comprises elements which have formed an integral part of land use planning for many years and therefore whilst new ways of working and thinking will be developed it is also crucial to build upon existing expertise.

The GI approach advocated is not about constraining development, but providing planners, developers and other professionals with a tool with which to inform their decisions and also to help put in place a powerful green space network able to deliver significant benefits to new residents and existing communities. 

Understanding GI as an asset is key to its promotion and adoption by developers, local authorities and communities.