Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership | About Us

Green Network Benefits

The benefits of the GCV Green Network’s reflect the scope of what can be achieved by making the GCV Green Network happen. The benefits for the region are:

Health improvement
Stronger communities
Biodiversity & the Environment enhancement
Enterprise Development

A network of well-designed green spaces will provide:

Health Improvement

The GCV Green Network will bring about physical change. This will happen through the creation of better maintained path and cycle networks, greener more accessible parks and more useful green spaces. There will be more opportunities for physical activity and healthy living.

However the GCV Green Network is about more than physical change, it is also about encouraging healthy use of the Network.

Our projects will address issues of both mental and physical health and target those most in need ie those experiencing health inequalities. We aim to encourage healthy eating for example through allotments, children’s gardens and schools programmes. See our Urban Food project for more information.

We also aim to examining opportunities for improving mental health and wellbeing, for example through health walks and outdoor arts projects. See our Branching Out project for more information.

91%In a recent study of households in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area 91% of people agreed strongly that green spaces should be safe spaces for physical activity whereas only 48% believed their local greenspace was a safe place for physical activity.*

*study conducted 2009.

Stronger Communities

Strengthening local communities is a key objective of the Partnership’s efforts. We aim to involve communities in the design, development and long-term management of their local green spaces. Our regeneration efforts focus on areas of multiple deprivation bringing social and environmental justice to these neighbourhoods.

By contributing to the creation of well-designed sustainable places local people can become empowered and take ownership of their community. The GCV Green Network will provide safe, attractive places where people want to live. Improved public spaces and improved landscapes which will allow communities to come together promoting tolerance, pride and revived community spirit.

69%In a recent study of households in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area 69% of people agreed strongly that green spaces should be good places for people to meet others from their local community whereas only 45% believed their local greenspace was a good place to meet others.*

*study conducted 2009.

Biodiversity and the Environment

The GCV Green Network will provide accessible green infrastructure linking out to the wider countryside. People will benefit from better, safer connections along key routes ie along the River Clyde, offering opportunities to explore and appreciate the local environment.

Wildlife will benefit from linked-up habitats across the metropolitan area reversing the damage done to natural habitats by decades of urban development. Environmental assets will be enhanced by the GCV Green Network reducing human impact on the environment and protecting urban populations from the worst effects of climate change.

82%In a recent study of households in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area 82% of people agreed strongly that green spaces should provide opportunities to see nature whereas only 44% believed their local greenspace provided an opportunity to see nature.*

*study conducted 2009.

Enterprise Development

The GCV Green Network has a vital role to play in promoting the Glasgow metropolitan area as an attractive, sustainable, vibrant city-region fit for the 21st Century. The GCV Green Network will provide a good working and recreational environment for business investment, tourism, and staff recruitment and retention.

It will also provide opportunities for businesses to create and manage the GCV Green Network, and to develop a trained and skilled workforce. Opportunities for new innovative enterprises in Green Network related fields also exist for example in relation to wood energy, recreational pursuits and local tourism.