星空传媒

The patch is typical of the 鈥渋ncidental land鈥� in and around social housing estates. Because nobody knows what it鈥檚 for or who can use it, a site like this ends up incidental to residents鈥� lives. Instead of being a neighbourhood asset 鈥� with landscaping to give it character, open access for a sense of community, a gardening club for fun and fitness, or even a wildlife garden to promote eco-diversity 鈥� it is literally a waste of space.

For social landlords struggling to hit the decent homes standard, it is probably also incidental to their core business. Cared-for open spaces are safer, healthier and more sociable, but campaigners complain of a lack of legislative clout to back that up and few practical and financial resources for projects. Despite the emphasis on open spaces in the Communities Plan, the spaces outside tenants鈥� front doors are being neglected.

Yet housing providers own or control significant amounts of open space, even if it is parcelled into plots and strips. 鈥淕reen space in residential areas is fragmented, so it鈥檚 not seen as a key part of the green space network, or as having particular value,鈥� says Pete Massini, policy officer at English Nature. 鈥淗ousing providers don鈥檛 appreciate that they have a potential asset 鈥� it鈥檚 just seen as grass that has to be mown. But it can be managed better, for wildlife and for people.鈥�

The Housing Corporation examines open spaces in new developments, but its assessments of registered social landlords don鈥檛 cover the quality of public space. The National Housing Federation says it 鈥渞ecognises the importance of green space within the context of neighbourhoods鈥�, but has no guidance on putting open spaces to more creative use. CABE Space, the open spaces arm of the government鈥檚 design champion, likewise has no specific support for social landlords, although director Julia Thrift promises that web-based case studies and housing 鈥渨ill feature in what we鈥檙e planning for this year鈥�.

CABE Space is funded by a 拢201m ODPM environmental fund that also includes an 拢89m liveability fund, which benefits councils such as Sheffield that take part in joint bids (See 鈥淲here it鈥檚 working鈥�, overleaf and 鈥淕rants for green spaces鈥�, page 31), and a 拢30m living spaces fund that is restricted to community groups 鈥� a policy that may not always be practical, especially in areas with transient communities.

Since 2002, planning guidance PPG17 has 鈥渆xpected鈥� local authorities to prepare green space strategies. But as English Nature鈥檚 Massini points out, these strategies tend to focus on the parks owned by councils, rather than on green space on estates. Some housing services departments are preparing separate internal strategies, but PPG17 is viewed as a missed opportunity to put housing green space on the map.

For councils and RSLs in London, one source of support is the embryonic Housing Greenspace Network, initiated last year by the Peabody Trust and Notting Hill Housing Group with support from CABE Space and English Nature. According to Mathew Frith, landscape regeneration manager at the Peabody Trust, members will 鈥渟hare best practice and loop back into [guidance from] national and regional policy organisations such as the London Housing Federation and the ODPM鈥�. If successful, the format could be replicated in other parts of the country.

A key suggestion from the Housing Greenspace Network is that all housing providers should appoint 鈥済reen space champions鈥�. Frith says: 鈥淭here are individuals interested in the issue, but there is often nowhere within the organisation for them to hang these interests. They need ready-made guidance, ready-made strategies and better access to funding to knit in with the objectives of the organisation.鈥�

Sarah Harrison is effectively in that role at Notting Hill Housing Group (her official title is deputy director of neighbourhoods). 鈥淎t the moment, one set of people manages tenants and tenancies, another set manages homes and repairs and another designs the properties,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need a mechanism to ensure designers are talking to people at the other end, the managers and residents.鈥� Notting Hill is trying to address this as part of an internal reorganisation.

The Housing Greenspace Network also plans training so green spaces do not fall down a skills gap. Housing managers often lack the skills to interpret the maintenance and social implications of landscape designs, while dry summers and mild winters are changing what can be grown. The result is lowest-common denominator conservatism. 鈥淥n the Continent, they are much less frightened of plant life,鈥� says Harrison. 鈥淲e think it鈥檚 going to destroy our buildings.鈥�

This is exacerbated by the difficulty in getting revenue funding, says CABE Space鈥檚 Julia Thrift. 鈥淩SLs have been in touch to say they鈥檇 like to create high-quality spaces but are concerned about maintaining them in the longer term. We think there鈥檚 a lot of potential for community involvement, with community groups taking on day-to-day management. But they are often quite fragile, and housing providers could do more to offer them support and guidance.鈥�

Other green and pleasant lands
In Denmark and Sweden, open spaces are often managed by residents鈥� committees, says Anna Jorgensen, a lecturer in the department of landscape at the University of Sheffield. The groups receive a portion of the rent, which is used to employ maintenance staff or design teams, and they can borrow against this income for larger investments such as a communal greenhouse. 鈥淎 successful project starts with the design, then it鈥檚 about having an administrative structure that gives people a say,鈥� explains Jorgensen.

However, this Euro-Eden of tenant involvement may not sit well with UK-style tenant-landlord structures. 鈥淭he relationship is often quite paternalistic, and residents expect that to continue. If you start unpicking that, the reaction might be, 鈥榤aybe I鈥檒l seek a reduction in my service charge鈥�. There are no easy ways of addressing that,鈥� says Peabody鈥檚 Mathew Frith.

Answers to these questions may be hard to find, but it is important to try. English Nature says green space reduces stress in adults, and recommends children have open space no more than 280m from home. CABE Space suggests that good quality open spaces boost property values by 6%, a crucial factor where new developments depend on cross-subsidy from private sales. As Harrison says: 鈥淕et it right, and open space adds value to properties and the whole area.鈥�