A researcher at
Northumbria University is part of a collaboration to create three new ‘Green
Corridors’ in the North East of England, transforming 35 miles of urban,
suburban, and rural areas across the region.
The pioneering
£3 million project aims to connect city and town dwellers with nature, history,
and culture, increase biodiversity and improve wellbeing in Gateshead, Durham
and South Tees.
The project is
being led by Newcastle, Durham and Teesside universities, in collaboration with
Northumbria University and other partners including the National Trust, local
authorities and community organisations.
Together the
project team will work in partnership to deliver three North East green
corridors. All green corridors are part of the National Trust’s Green Corridor
programme which aims to establish, by 2030, 20 large green corridors in
England, Northern Ireland and Wales providing significant benefits for people
and nature.
The three North
East Green Corridors are:
- The Tyne Derwent Way which opened
last year. The route links attractions along the Tyne and Derwent rivers
including: Gateshead Riverside Park, Dunston Staiths, the Metro Centre,
the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre, Nine Arches Viaduct, Thornley
Woodland Centre and Gibside.
- The Durham route will stretch along
the River Wear, connecting the city centre of Durham and Crook Hall
Gardens with over 1,000 hectares of green and blue space. Rich natural
sites sit in the corridor including Brasside Ponds, Low Newton Junction
Nature Reserve and heritage sites such as Finchale Priory and Mallygill
Woods. It will link to existing long distance walks in the area - Camino
Ingles and Weardale Way.
- Tees to Topping will connect
Middlesbrough and the Tees Estuary to the North York Moors National Park
and Roseberry Topping. Threading through the heart of urban Middlesbrough
to open moorland, it will better connect the region’s natural and cultural
assets such as Ormesby Beck, Stewart Park, Ormesby Hall, Flatts Lane
Country Park and Guisborough Forest.
Rebecca Prescott, Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship from Newcastle
Business School at Northumbria University is one of the Co-Investigators on the
project. She was introduced to work on Green Corridors through her current
research on collaboration in the delivery of the Tyne Derwent Way and Flourish Gateshead, funded by the
Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
Dr Prescott
explained: “Flourishing means creating the right conditions for people to work
together, share ideas, and take action to improve their surroundings. While
Flourish Gateshead focuses on the creative industries, this new Green Corridors
project builds on that work by encouraging even broader collaboration across
different fields and sectors. This approach helps make sure our research is
useful and relevant to the public, and I hope the findings of Green Corridors
North East will support the generation of shared ideas, strategies, and
policies that really reflect the needs and hopes of people across the North
East.”
The Green
Corridors North East project is one of three funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) Mission Awards, which
is piloting a new approach that emphasises the team over leadership by an
individual researcher.
Professor
Christopher Smith, Arts and Humanities Research Council Executive Chair, said: “The
Mission Awards take an innovative approach to supporting research. The
goal of the award is to encourage and trial radically team-based research
behaviours. The projects, on highly topical and pragmatic issues, will need to
succeed not just through the quality of their research, but by the example they
set of how to work as teams.
“The interest
in this award shows that arts and humanities researchers are embracing new ways
of working and setting their own rules for teamwork. AHRC is proud to support
the transformations in the sector and I am sure that lessons will be learnt
that apply far more widely than the disciplines supported here.”
Other Green Corridors
North East partner organisations include:
Gateshead Council
Durham Wildlife Trust
Durham County Council
Durham Castle and Cathedral
Middlesbrough Council
Tees Valley Wildlife Trust
Wear Rivers Trust
Natural England
North East Combined Authority
Image credit: A view of the
River Tyne and Dunston Staiths. Adobe Stock/Graeme J Baty
