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23 March 2009 Spend more on trees and less on roads - advisors to Government This funding could be made available by cutting the cash spent on 'grey' build such as expanding the road network. This is the conclusion not of radical green groups, but of key government advisors The Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment (CABE) and Natural England. The organisations argue that this change in emphasis would help recovery from the economic recession while helping to tackle carbon emissions - with the added benefit of improving quality of life for those living in the UK's towns and cities. "The spend on grey schemes, like building and expanding roads, is out of kilter with spend on assets like street trees and parks and green spaces, and the public funding pot cannot be realistically expected to fully accommodate both," say the groups in a joint statement. "The creation and maintenance of green infrastructure will generate new and sustainable jobs in the private sector as well creating desirable areas to live and work, stimulating local business and attracting inward investment." Richard Simmons, CABE chief executive, argued that we have no choice but to redesign our towns and cities in response to the imperative of climate change. "Greening towns and cities needs to be part of the Green New Deal, as much as technology" he said. Investment in green roofs, for instance, would not only protect cities from flooding by absorbing heavy rain, cool the air in summer, improve air quality and support biodiversity, but it would also create many new jobs. CABE and New England argue that if just 10% of the national £10 billion budget to widen and build roads was put aside, that could pay for 40 new parks, half a million new street trees, one and a half million square metres of green roofs, and 1,000 miles of safe greenways for cyclists and pedestrians. Sam Bond Source: edie newsroom
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 Click here to leave a commentCommentsShould we spend more on trees and less on roads?
By Harold Tonge we should ensure that all the ground taken up by (newish)roads is planted with high value trees which a=can be cropped in say 30/50 years, seeling on this asset to finance other sustainable projects whuilst ensuring future import/fuel bills are reduced. © Faversham House Group Ltd 2009. edie news articles may be copied or forwarded
for individual use only. No other reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written consent.
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