The Bluespaces scheme focuses on delivering improvements to areas where the water environment can be accessed and enjoyed by our customers.
Projects are often developed and delivered in partnership, with seed and co-funding a key element of our approach to support partners’ wider ambitions.
Bluespaces is allowing us to invest around £1m from 2020-25 in catchment activities and enhancements which go above and beyond. Since 2020 we have delivered almost 130 km of improvements to the water environment, and by 2025 we hope to have delivered around 250 km of improvements. We have pledged to improve 500 km of Bluespaces by 2030, with this commitment set out in our vision for coasts and rivers, and we are now developing our Bluespaces approach for 2025-2030.
So far, Bluespaces has helped deliver over 5000 volunteer days and engaged over 700 volunteers across 40 projects. Our co-funding has helped plant nearly 8000 new trees, created over 400 ha of new wetland, and helped tackle 8 different kinds of invasive non-native species (INNS), as well as enhancing access and recreational facilities for local communities.
Our areas of interest are shown on the map below.
Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) incorporates Northumbrian Water (NW) and Essex & Suffolk Water (ESW).
Our customers have asked us to work in partnership to improve the water environment, focusing on a wide range of improvements in areas where they can access and enjoy water and its wildlife, and the associated health and wellbeing benefits. A scheme has been developed to be delivered within NWG’s 2020-25 plan to allow us to address this challenge and do more to protect and improve the water environment in our regions.
The Bluespaces Team brings together NW and lead delivery partners for NW (Durham wildlife Trust) and for ESW (Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust), to work together to develop and deliver the programme.
The team has identified over 3,800 km of bluespaces (accessible water environment) linked to streams and rivers, lakes and reservoirs, wetlands, coasts and beaches in catchments in the North East, and over 3,700 km of bluespaces in catchments in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, including canals, which are accessible to the public to enjoy via public rights of way or other public access.
The Bluespaces scheme allows us to develop and deliver projects with our local environmental and catchment partners to improve a number of these areas, both at popular tourist and visitor attractions, and at sites of value to local communities. The scheme focuses on delivering packages of improvements across three improvement areas: access and recreational facilities; wildlife and biodiversity; and water quality.
For examples of the type of improvements that could be delivered through the Bluespaces programme, see here.
Bluespaces are the environments covering or close to all surface water within our regions.
This includes streams, rivers, ditches, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, wetlands, fens, bogs, marshes, reedbeds, canals, coasts and beaches.
NWG defines bluespaces as the area around water that is freely accessible to the public via road, footpath, bridleway or other public right of way, or accessible via a free point of access, including a country park, beach or other public area.
At least one of the following factors should apply to class public access close to water as accessible water environment:
- Immediate vicinity of water (within 100m)
- Visibility of water and water associated wildlife
- Sound of water and water associated wildlife
- Touch and interaction opportunities with water
NWG has carried out high level analysis to map bluespaces in our regions. This dataset has been made available to partners via the Bluespaces mapping portals. We would like to work with partners to understand where the water environment is accessible and which areas of our regions are eligible for scheme activity.
The bluespaces scheme applies a strategic approach to working in partnership to improve the water environment in our regions.
The aim is to support, drive and deliver cost-effective projects with the greatest benefits for customers and the environment. Candidate Projects will be prioritised on benefits, costs and deliverability, with strategic support and the locations of projects and involvement of partners also considered within the 5-year programme.
In order to be eligible for the scheme, projects must impact on or be in the vicinity of bluespaces.
Projects must also include interventions which cover 2 out of 3 of the core aspects of bluespaces improvements – Access, facilities & recreation, wildlife & biodiversity, and water quality (A, B and C in Table 1). At least 1 benefit indicator in 2 core aspects must be addressed.
Table 1 shows the 12 Water Environment Indicators which NWG will use to assess the benefits of bluespaces projects. These indicators are linked to those used in the government's 25-year plan for the environment. Projects meeting a high number of indicators will be prioritised for development into Candidate Projects. These projects will deliver the greatest benefits for NWG’s customers and the environment and are more likely to be approved than projects with fewer indicators.
The bluespaces scheme will be delivered in partnership with organisations and community groups from the public, private, voluntary and education sectors in our NW and ESW operating areas.
This area of interest covers 10 management catchments:
- Till & Tweed, Northumberland Rivers, Tyne, Wear and Tees in the North East
- Broadland Rivers, East Suffolk, Combined Essex, South Essex, and Roding, Beam & Ingrebourne in East Anglia and the South East.
The full area the scheme covers is shown here.
We have expanded NWG’s area of interest for this scheme to include complete management catchments in the ESW area. This allows us to take a regional approach to partnership working and offers potential to improve the water environment in areas which may not be our key focus, but which are important to our customers.
The level of funding NWG will offer is dependent on the number of km of bluespaces which could be improved through each project and the level of benefits to be delivered for our customers and the environment.
There is no upper or lower limit for funding for projects. The funding we offer is likely to be seed or match funding but could also cover the total project cost if the project is deliverable within NWG’s contribution only.
Funding is unrestricted and can be used to fund physical improvements, salary costs, and overheads. Contributions need to be linked to delivery on the ground to support km of improvements of identified water environment.
Our Bluespaces Mapping Portal shows water environments accessible to customers and considered to be bluespaces.
2024-25
The Bluespaces programme of projects is currently complete for the NW region until the end of the 2024-25 financial year.
Project proposals for the ESW Bluespaces programme will be considered for immediate delivery, providing improvements can be completed by March 2025.
2025-2030
Funding for Bluespaces has been included in NWG’s PR24 Business Plan for 2025-30. This phase of the programme will include increased investment opportunities to improve bluespaces and will provide support for partners to both develop and deliver projects. NWG is already planning for future delivery, and ideas and project opportunities are welcomed for both the NW and ESW regions.
The process for logging project opportunities and ideas and developing these into Candidate Projects for inclusion in our plan is set out below.
Partners can engage via the Bluespaces mapping portals or by email (see below). If NWG consider a project to be eligible we will contact partners and ask for completion of a development form.
As this is a strategic scheme working across a multi-year plan, there are no formal submission deadlines. Projects will be developed for inclusion within NWG’s annual plans, linked to annual funding limits. NWG’s Water Environment Coordinators will work with partners to develop and support projects and aim to respond to partners as soon as possible after new information is received.
Delivery timescales for scheme projects will be linked to NWG’s annual plans, based on April-March financial years. Multi-year projects may be supported.
Funding awarded under this scheme is in relation to a regulatory deliverable for which NWG is required to report to an external governance group. Feedback and evidence of delivery of the improvements should be provided to NWG by successful partners upon project completion or 8 weeks prior to the delivery date.
More information on the scheme and our approach can be found below.
Bluespaces: www.nwg.co.uk/responsibility/environment/bluespaces
Partners can also contact us directly with any questions: bluespaces@nwl.co.uk
NWG work in partnership through our new approach and the scheme to identify, develop and deliver projects on an annual basis.
Watch this video to learn more about the Bluespaces scheme
The Bluespaces scheme focuses on delivering improvements to areas where the water environment can be accessed and enjoyed by our customers.
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