Greening Swinton Square
Background
IGINITION was a ground-breaking EU project which ran from November 2018 to May 2022 which sought to develop innovative financing solutions for investment in Greater Manchester’s natural environment through the use of Nature Based Solutions. The project aimed to increase the city region’s ability to adapt to the increasingly extreme effects of climate change.
Building on an existing relationship with strategic real estate advisor Avison Young, Groundwork began working at Swinton Square Shopping Centre, an urban mall at the heart of the local community.
The Greening Swinton Square project sought to showcase how incorporating nature-based solutions into public realm design can help restore urban ecosystems, and tackle socio-environmental challenges such as flooding, air quality and biodiversity at the same time as improving how people feel about the space.
What we did
Groundwork Greater Manchester began engaging the local community, residents, visitors and businesses, in conversation about how we could ‘green’ the centre from the summer of 2021. A series of engagement activities were undertaken to understand how the space was used and what would make it better in the future. The team delivered a number of fun and interactive events which raised awareness about climate change and how urban greening and nature-based-solutions could help manage the effects.
By connecting people with nature, businesses, schools and residents quickly developed ideas on what could be done to tackle climate change here at Swinton Square.
These ideas were fed into a series of participatory design workshops which harnessed the enthusiasm of the community, and drew on Groundwork’s landscape architects’ expertise. The team focused on bringing the communities ideas to life, whilst managing the age-old challenge of keeping maintenance costs low.
In spring 2022, Groundwork’s in-house landscaping team started construction on the site, installing several nature-based solutions including:
- Green, sedum roof
- Solar powered, self-watering living wall
- Rain garden
- Long season, low maintenance bulb bed
- Raised planters
Our rain garden was planted with a variety of hardy perennial plants which can tolerate dry periods as well as short periods of flooding, such as Spotted Laurel, Green Cotton Lavander and Michaelmas Daisy.
Outcomes
All of the nature-based-solutions installed incorporated hidden systems which, in periods of heavy rain, absorb excess water and reduce flooding in the square and on neighbouring streets. The features were also designed to keep maintenance costs at a minimum throughout their lifetime.
The result; a greener, more resilient space with living walls, green roofs, and a rain garden. A space where local people want to spend more time, and visit more often.
The new features at Swinton Square will be monitored to explore the benefits and positive impact they have for both the environment, the local economy and people’s connection with nature and their community.
We hope the evidence collected will inspire land owners across Greater Manchester and beyond to invest in more nature-based solutions in order to enhance life for people and the planet.
Partners
