Creating our Green Infrastructure Strategy

We are pleased to share that work is underway on a Green Infrastructure Delivery and Investment Strategy for South Bank and Waterloo. The strategy will identify opportunities to enhance green infrastructure in our local area and set out impactful actions we can take. The aim is to create a strategy with common ownership – something we can all pick up and progress - recognising that we all play a role in improving green infrastructure locally.

What do we mean by Green Infrastructure?

Green infrastructure broadly covers all the green spaces and natural features within South Bank and Waterloo – from parks and street trees through to green roofs, ponds, the Thames, private gardens, potted plants and everything in between.

We already have some wonderful green spaces in South Bank and Waterloo, but with canopy cover across the neighbourhood only at about 10% (compared to Lambeth borough's ambitions of 20%) we know we have more work to do. Through improving local green infrastructure we can support climate resilience, air quality, biodiversity, social and economic benefits across our neighbourhood.

Some local examples of green infrastructure

Activities so far

We have appointed a team led by landscape architecture practice Untitled Practice working with Shared Assets and EFTEC to deliver this project. They are helping us to understand not just where we should have more greening but also how we can fund, govern and maintain current and future green infrastructure into the future.

Working with our task and finish group of community representatives, the team have completed a first round of extensive stakeholder interviews, undertaken a review of governance options and are creating a natural capital assessment to understand the existing value of our green infrastructure.

Perennial planting workshop hosted with Bankside Open Spaces Trust for local housing estates

As part of their engagement with the local community we have also held a perennial planting workshop for local housing estates and guest lecture with students at London South Bank University on green careers.

Guest lecture on green careers and the Green Infrastructure Strategy with Masters' planning and urban design students at London South Bank University.

The team are now collating all this information to identify priority interventions, an investment strategy, and governance recommendations. We will keep you updated as this starts to take shape.