Community Conversation: Supporting Nature in our Green Spaces

Overview

Northumberland County Council is undertaking a project titled 'Supporting Nature in our Green Spaces' which entails reviewing our grounds maintenance arrangements to identify how we can better support nature recovery and improved biodiversity in our public green spaces. Currently our grounds maintenance service is delivered against a schedule of maintenance that dictates how frequently we maintain green spaces, for example, how often we cut the grass or cut back shrubs and hedges.

The emergence of more extreme weather conditions in recent years has presented more seasonal challenges for the service as temperatures and rainfall become more erratic impacting on traditional growing and maintenance seasons. The Council is already focusing on how the natural environment can help mitigate the effects of climate change following its declaration of a Climate Emergency in 2019 and an Ecological Emergency in 2023. This review, conducted in partnership with Newcastle University, aims to ensure the grounds maintenance service supports those aims.  

The primary purpose of the current grounds maintenance service is to provide a high level of visual amenity and help improve the physical appearance and quality of life within our communities. The Council is committed to maintaining those good levels of visual amenity but also seeks to introduce changes that will help protect nature and wildlife and will enhance biodiversity across the green spaces we maintain. 

Biodiversity enhancements are associated with an increase in the range of habitat types that improve the abundance and diversity of plants, pollinators and birds.