Cleaning up for investors

Nov 6 2007 by Karen Wilson, The Journal

A RECENT research report shows investment in the local environment is returned with benefits to the local economy.

The research was carried out by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies and examined four projects delivered by environmental regeneration charity Groundwork across the UK, including two in the North-East.

These ranged from a small residential shopping area to industrial estates and a ‘green business park’, which had benefited from a diverse range of environmental interventions.

The North-East projects were shop front and landscaping improvements in County Durham villages Coundon and Leeholme and lighting and routeways in Riverside Business Park in Middlesbrough.

Researchers concluded that in County Durham there was evidence to suggest that environmental improvements increased passing trade and acted as an incentive for further investment, and that investment in signage, lighting and routeways in Riverside Business Park led to more than £1m of private investment, business relocation to the area and job creation.

Mervyn Blades, regional director of Groundwork North-East, said: “This confirms what we’d all suspected – that making our towns and cities cleaner, greener and safer is good for everyone.

“Increasingly we are seeing businesses starting to examine their green credentials and pledge to reduce their carbon footprints. Improving the environment is not only important in it’s own right – to address the global issue of climate change – but this research shows it has impacts closer to home.”