Transcript Slide 1

Theme 6: Environmental protection
The distinct natural and historic environment and geography of Coventry
and Warwickshire presents opportunities for sustainable economic
development:
• Provide attractive employment sites through the regeneration
and development of existing urban/industrial brownfield land to highest
environmental standards
• To attract and retain a skilled, productive local workforce
through the environmental protection and enhancement of villages and
towns, and Coventry city, to create highly desirable places to live, work
and play;
• To develop the substantial economic potential of area’s
tourism and leisure industry sector, complementing its cultural heritage
with the natural beauty of its countryside.
Warwickshire Coventry and Solihull
Local Nature Partnership
Theme 6: Specific Actions
 Green/blue infrastructure and environmental protection projects including
sustainable visitor economy and improvements for residents and workers
 Innovative technologies to support local public and private sector landowners in
addressing environmental protection and enhancement issues (Theme 1 and Theme 3);
 Enhancing SME competitiveness and sustainability through the provision of targeted
water resource efficiency advice and food processing technical support;
 A grant scheme and tailored advice service to enhance green infrastructure and soil
protection to increase food production and promote local food supply chains;
 Supporting investment in supply and demand chain development in appropriate
biomass for energy, high quality wood products, & woodland management
 Supporting SME investment in woodland and grassland management and food
technology and production.
Actions to move to other themes ?
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Tailored business support activities (e.g. access to new markets, innovation
support) to support the development of the environmental technologies business
sector in the LEP area
Address skills gaps in habitat management and creation techniques for wetland,
woodland, and grassland to promote and support the development of supply and
demand chains in food, biomass energy, the visitor economy and recreation;
(Linked to theme 10)
Develop apprenticeships schemes to meet needs of environmental industry
following current pilots of small scale graduate programmes; (Linked to theme 10)
Resource Efficiency
• Improving the efficiency with which businesses and the wider community
consume material resources
Local Nature Partnership
Strategic Vision
• The natural and historic environment will be in a vibrant and healthy
condition such that the economy, people and local communities derive
significant benefits from the full range of goods and services that it
provides and sustains.
• Key decision-makers and influencers will engage in and champion the
need to actively integrate enhancement of the natural environment with
economic growth.
• The loss of biodiversity in Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull will have
been halted and reversed. Key habitats will have been restored,
enhanced and connected at a landscape scale.
• Local people will value and feel connected to their local environment.
Warwickshire Coventry and Solihull
Local Nature Partnership
Local Nature Partnership
Strategic Key Themes
1. Improving quality of life, maximising benefits
for society of quality environment.
2. Restoring biodiversity: Landscape scale
environmental enhancement
3. Water quality improvement and sustainable
water management
Warwickshire Coventry and Solihull
Local Nature Partnership
Points to discuss
• identify anything fundamental that is
missing
• anything which people think are lower
priority.
Warwickshire Coventry and Solihull
Local Nature Partnership
Opportunity map for Warwickshire,
Coventry and Solihull
Current priority areas include:
Tame Valley Wetlands LandscapeColeshill to Tamworth
Princethorpe Woodlands Living Landscape
Avon Valley floodplain
Farmland – HLS/ELS/ Farmland bird areas
Feldon Lias grasslands
Rugby Green Spaces network
Coventry and Nuneaton Urban green spaces
Arden- Earlswood cluster area
Theme 5: Climate Change Adaptation
This presentation will briefly consider the following questions.
• What are the potential impacts of climate change in Coventry and
Warwickshire?
• How do we best enable economic growth given these impacts?
• How do we best enable sustainable economic futures for communities
at risk?
• What specific actions are we proposing?
What are the potential impacts of climate
change in Coventry and Warwickshire?
 In the UK increased flood risk poses the most
significant and specific climate change challenge to the
UK economy.
 Business down-time. Many existing businesses across
Coventry and Warwickshire are unable to operate
during floods and during the recovery period.
 Large insurance premiums. Affects up to one in seven
existing businesses in the sub-region.
 Barrier to development. A number of developments in
Warwickshire have stalled in recent months.
 Impacts outside Coventry and Warwickshire. Due to
its central location.
 Impacts on employees. Coventry and Warwickshire’s
greatest asset is its people. Many of the people
employed, or potentially employed, are at risk of their
homes flooding (around 1 in 10 in Warwickshire).
How do we best enable economic growth?
 Partnership flood alleviation schemes In Warwickshire, over the next 7 years the schemes
planned by Warwickshire County Council will bring £7.2 million in economic benefits (not
including intangible benefits) from a contribution of £200k per annum from the ERDF.
 Encouraging development which is informed by flood risk
 Enables existing companies to expand
 Maximise economic opportunities from development opportunities (eg. waterside
locations)
 Intangible benefits (including agriculture)
 SuDS guidance Research needed.
Brimscombe
Port –
existing and
proposed.
How do we best enable sustainable economic
futures for communities at risk?
 Defra Community Flood Resilience Pathfinder Project. Working with communities to help
them become more resilient to flooding.
 Reaping the benefits across Coventry and Warwickshire. Relatively small amounts of funding
can go a long way.
What specific actions are we proposing?
Enabling economic growth
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Contributing towards flood alleviation schemes as match funding to allow over £7 million in
economic benefits to Coventry and Warwickshire.
Contributing towards flood compatible development where other economic considerations
outweigh flood risk alone, allowing the most economically advantageous developments to go
ahead, with associated benefits in growth and employment opportunities.
Research into the most effective design criteria for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in the
region to assist in proposed developments going ahead.
Delivering sustainable economic
futures for communities at risk
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Multiplying the benefits from the Defrafunded Community Flood Resilience
Pathfinder project currently ongoing in
Warwickshire, by using lessons learned
from this project to go towards costeffective ways in which communities
across Coventry and Warwickshire can
help themselves to reduce their flood risk.
Questions / Discussion