Eastside Sustainability
Advisory Group (ESAG)
54-57 Allison Street
Digbeth
B5 5TH
Tel: 0121 678 8851
Email: esag@bvsc.org
|
Eastside Sustainability
Advisory Group (ESAG) |
|
Embargo: Friday 1st November 2002
Press Launch and Photo Opportunity: 11.30am, 1st November 2002: Cllr Andrew Coulson will formally receive the handbook from ESAG representatives and the RICS Foundation director David Fitzpatrick at The Arch, Floodgate Street, Digbeth (part of the Eastside area).
Have We Got
Eastside Sussed?
Green
Groups Launch "People First" Handbook For Developers
Local environment experts and activists have joined together to produce a unique handbook to steer developers working on the new-Eastside development towards "real regeneration"[1].
As the Urban Summit progresses in Birmingham [2], the Eastside Sustainability Advisory Group's guide "Sustainable Eastside: A Vision for the Future" challenges the council, developers, planners, architects and construction firms to make the planned regeneration of Birmingham's Eastside a truly sustainable development [3].
Joe Holyoak of ESAG said:
"To be truly sustainable, Eastside regeneration needs not only to protect the planet's resources but also to meet the needs of local Birmingham people whilst living, working and socialising. Quality development is human scale development which can adapt to people's needs over a lifetime.P rotecing the environment also creats long-term jobs, quality homes and living communities. Eastside can be the first regeneration project to bring all these solutions together."
The vision recommends plenty of green space for both people and wildlife, adaptable and lasting human-scale buildings, local job creation and sourcing of materials; reusing water and energy wherever possible and encouraging vibrant community facilities. Regeneration should provide jobs and housing across the employment spectrum so that Eastside remains accessible to all and builds on its unique character in Birmingham's busy manufacturing heart [4].
Birmingham City Council have generally welcomed the document: Councillor Andrew Coulson, Cabinet Member for Regeneration said:
"This report is full of practical ideas to enrich our work in Eastside. We have already demolished the Masshouse Roundabout and as new developments come onstream, we want them to be at the forefront of innovation and modern thinking in terms of energy, water management and other aspects of sustainability."
David Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, RICS Foundation and founder of the Global Alliance for Building Sustainability [5] said:
"One phrase became the cliché of the 1992 Rio Summit: think globally, act locally. The difficulty is finding real examples where this applies. Sustainable Eastside, with its world vision but practical local application, goes a long way to realising the Rio dream, and builds on the 2002 World Summit outputs. People in Johannesburg this summer had had enough of mere words: they wanted action. Sustainable regeneration of Eastside in Birmingham gives local people something real. The test is in making it happen. With this beginning, and with links to the wider sustainable development movement, Eastside has an excellent foundation."
The document has also been acclaimed by the Midlands Landscape Institute. Chair Jerry Birkbeck, said:
"`We are fully supportive of this report. Its holistic approach is to be welcomed, and such measures introduced hand in hand with the redevelopment will truly set the tone for Eastside. For Birmingham City Council to champion how sustainability can really be incorporated in the regeneration of our towns and cities will set a key benchmark for future developments."
Tracey Fletcher of ESAG said:
"Eastside could become a regional icon and a global example for sustainable development in practice."
Sustainable Eastside can be viewed at www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/ESAG
Editor's Notes
[1] The document is on the web at www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/ESAG or can be obtained from ESAG: telephone 0121 632 6909 or email esag@bvsc.org.
[2] The Urban Summit, 31st Oct -1st Nov: for more information, go to www.urban.odpm.gov.uk.
[3]
Organisations involved in producing the document or subsequently in ESAG are:
"Sustainable Eastside" was originally commissioned in December 2001 by Birmingham City Council's Environmental Services Department. It was put together by a unique collaboration of 18 local organisations, initially led by Birmingham Friends of the Earth and Groundwork Birmingham, and now forming the Eastside Sustainability Advisory Group (ESAG).
Two Eastside Sustainability Advisors, managed by Groundwork Birmingham and ESAG, will be employed from January 2003 to facilitate environmental best practice for open space and the built environment., as part of a £2 billion European Regional Development Fund package for the Eastside development. This also includes an official advisory role for ESAG.
For further information the document's Executive Summary provides a quick overview of recommendations.
[4] In London, the amount of empty offices is growing by the week, with experts expecting this year to show the lowest office takeup for 20 years ( Sunday Times, Oct 6th 2002, "City and Industry Unite in Jobs Gloom" David Smith and John Waples)
[5] GABS was launched at the World Summit. It is a formal partnership of all the built environment professions, non governmental organisations and policy makers, working towards sustainability world wide. GroundWork Birmingham is a supporter of the GABS Charter. See www.earth-summit.net for more details. For RICS Foundation, see www.rics-foundation.org