Landscape Partnership

The Greensand Country Landscape Partnership is where Greensand Country began. In January 2013, a National Lottery Heritage Funded Programme was established to deliver more than 40 projects, helping to raise awareness of the heritage value of the landscape and to reverse the gradual decline in the distinct landscape character of this beautiful and loved place.

Led by The Greensand Trust and Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity, the vision was for Greensand Country to be a living and working landscape that is cherished by present and future generations. Throughout the programme a number of major milestones were achieved, from creating new walking, cycling and horse riding routes, to rebuilding sandstone structures, training apprentices in heritage and landscape skills and the inception of the ever-popular Greensand Country Festival.

From its inception, the Greensand Country Landscape Partnership itself has taken the decision not to comment on planning applications, due to a lack of resources for such activity. We do however have a number of resources below that provides impartial detail on landscape character, the historic environment, and key habitats.

If you have any planning matters you wish to draw to the attention of individual partners, we would recommend that you get in touch with them directly. Should you not have the relevant contact at a specific partner organisation the Landscape Partnership is happy to forward on an email to the partner.

Partners

                                                                                                                 

 

The 40 projects covered a number of inter-related strands, including:

Living Heaths
Strengthening the habitats we already have by carrying out significant restoration projects and improving management infrastructure; and funding small landowners across the area to restore small pieces of heathland, acidic and neutral grassland and provide stepping stones and corridors between habitats.

Working Woodlands
Giving landowners the skills and funding to bring woodlands into positive management.

Historic Parklands
Taking a landscape scale approach to the restoration of our historic parks, we encouraged positive management through management plans and third party grants to restore and enhance features, while creating new trails to connect parklands and engage the community.

Celebrating Greensand Country
Engaging more people in the landscape through a range of creative activities such as storytelling, drama and photography, as well as a schools programme and talks and debates about the landscape and its future, culminating in an annual Greensand Festival.

Revealing Greensand Country
Extending, enhancing and promoting the extensive rights of way network for the benefit of walkers, cyclists and horse riders in and around the area to help engage them in the natural and cultural heritage of the landscape and to bring in economic growth.

Heritage Skills
Investing in skills for the landscape through a study programme and apprenticeship scheme provided for school leavers and those not in education, employment and training; and training for the existing paid and volunteer workforce.

Promoting and understanding Greensand Country
Raising the profile and recognition of the area through a range of promotional, marketing and communications and interpretation initiatives.

Community Projects
Providing grants, skills and practical support to local communities to help them explore, conserve, celebrate and maintain their local landscape heritage.