CENTRAL SCOTLAND GREEN NETWORK

Central Scotland Green Network partners are showcasing current projects at the Royal Highland Show this week (24^th – 27^th June 2010). A number of organisations from across the CSGN geography are exhibiting in the marquee, being hosted by Central Scotland Forest Trust:

• Central Scotland Forest Trust
• Woodland Trust
• Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
• Fife Coastal Forum
• Ayrshire Woodlands Initiative
• Helix Trust

 If you are visiting the show, drop in and see us in the Forestry Arena, 4^th Avenue.

Europe’s biggest greenspace initiative, based in the central belt of Scotland, has received a £500,000 shot in the arm to help kick-start delivery work for the project.

The funding, in the form of a new Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) Development Fund, will ultimately help the initiative reach its goals of transforming the area by increasing woodland cover by 50 per cent, boosting outdoor recreation opportunities, improving the landscape and regenerating derelict and vacant land.
 
Announcing the new development fund, Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said:

“The CSGN has the ability to transform the area’s environment and the health of three million people living in the central belt. The initiative will also give the network area a key competitive edge by creating a higher quality working environment which will attract more companies.

“This is a long-term goal for the CSGN and the funding scheme announced today is a first step to stimulate development work towards larger scale projects. “

The new fund, administered by Forestry Commission Scotland, will support costs for a range of early activities including site investigation work, surveys, planning and design work, mapping, data collection and community or stakeholder consultations.  Support will be focused on proposals that will lead to real change on the ground in the next few years.

Keith Geddes, Chair of the CSGN added:

“This welcome news will kick start preparatory work that will lead to a variety of projects which will help transform central Scotland. We will be exploring other sources of finance in the public and private sectors as a means of creating high quality, attractive places where people want to live and work, where companies want to invest, and where tourists want to visit.”

The CSGN stretches from Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Dunbartonshire in the west through to Fife and East Lothian in the east.  Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage are joint lead partners for the development of the Central Scotland Green Network.

For fuller details of the CSGN Development Fund, log on to http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-85bgtl .

Since June last year the bodies charged by Government with leading this initiative, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, have been working closely with a wide range of bodies to explore just what this initiative could offer. Work has been carried out to identify early priorities, to meet strategic needs, accelerate action and address barriers to delivery.

The culmination of this work was launched last week at Motherwell College on the Ravenscraig site in the form of a ‘prospectus’ that sets out a vision and proposed goals for the initiative.

The Prospectus is now open for consultation. Running alongside this, the Support Unit are also consulting on the Draft Vision and Work Plan (2010-2015). Both documents and a questionnaire along with further details about the consultation are available at: www.centralscotlandgreennetwork.org/consultation

There will be a number of workshop sessions relating to the consultation in late May / early June. We will send further details of these shortly and also post details on our website.

We will also be using the CSGN Community of Practice to host a number of online events and open up discussion surrounding the CSGN.

The CSGN Prospectus will be launched on the 19th of April at 5pm, Motherwell College (1 Enterprise Way, Motherwell, ML1 2TX)

"Our venue is the newly opened Motherwell College Campus. Also taking shape at Ravenscraig is the Innovation Park, and I am delighted that we will have David Kelly from the Building Research Establishment to talk to us about this exciting and relevant project.

The Central Scotland Green Network is hugely ambitious in its aims, envisaged impact and the area it will cover. We are seeking a transformation in environmental quality across the Central Belt. It will require the support and contribution of many organisations and individuals from the public, private and voluntary sectors. Reflecting this, we are inviting to this event key players from across a number of sectors and we would be delighted if you could attend."

Keith Geddes, Chair

If you have not received an invite, but are interested in attending, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it as soon as possible.