A study of residents in Sheffield and Manchester shows that people who live in the urban environment are happy to pay a little extra to bring some greenery to town. The research shows the residents are happy to pay almost £30 a month extra in council tax if the money is spent on greening the streets.
The study involved showing residents images of their local street with various green development options and they were asked to value how much extra they were prepared to pay for the development. It seemed that people were happy to pay more if the urban trees were bigger.
People happy to pay more for larger trees.
One survey in Manchester – Whitworth Street – showed that it’s residents were happy to pay an extra £1.61 a month if the street was planted with small ornamental trees while if the street was planted with larger forest trees and grass landscaping they would be happy to pay an extra £2.33 a month.
In Sheffield city centre the amount people were prepared to pay was higher. In Blonk Street – an area of city centre apartments - people were prepared to pay and extra £4.27 a month to ensure that a new river footbridge and riverside landscaping was maintain to it’s current level. If the landscaping around the riverside walkway was improved then the residents of the apartments were happy to pay an additional £8.00 a month for the improved facility. When given the option of the river being allowed to revert back to a more natural vegetation and setting then the residents priced that at even a higher level. For more natural riverbanks they would be prepared to pay an additional £10.81 a month.
Residents willing to pay £30 a month for good landscaping and open areas.
The residents who were prepared to see the biggest rise in their council tax bills or rent payments were from Nursery Street in Sheffield city centre. The street runs alongside the river Don. Residents there were prepared to pay an additional £29.91 a month if a development of the area was set away from the riverbank and there was a large expanse of green space between the river and development.
The research was conducted by Sheffield University Department of Town and Regional Planning and will form part of the Valuing Attractive Landscapes in the Urban Economy (VALUE), project being run by South Yorkshire Forest Partnership. The project aims to discover the economic value of installing green infrastructure within the urban environment.
Study to help in town planning and green infrastructure investment.
Professor John Henneberry from Sheffield University said: “The results of this research will be used to help to improve the design of green infrastructure investments so that they more closely meet the preferences of the local communities that use them.“
Tom Wild, Director of South Yorkshire Forest Partnership, said: “This is great news and a really important piece of evidence. This work proves that attractive, green landscapes really do help create the right setting for investment, to help deliver more sustainable jobs and growth. It couldn’t come at a better time, when we are all having to think more carefully about future priorities for what little funding is available.
“The outcome of this research also confirms that we’ve been pursuing the right approach to innovation, working with the University and with SYFP’s network of partners in similar cities across Europe. Not only have we brought a lot of new investment into South Yorkshire, but we’ve shown how this work can have real impacts on planning and regeneration policy too. By innovating together, we all work smarter, and that’s worth a lot nowadays.“
External sites:
VALUE
University of Sheffield: Public willing to pay more for greener urban space.
