"We took over ownership from the council. The greens were overgrown litter traps, places for people to fly-tip. desolate pieces of land that people refused to take ownership of."

Alan Ingram, LOCAL.

The Four Greens Project
LOCATION Longley, Sheffield
MANAGING ORGANISATION LOCAL – Longley Organised Community Association Limited

THE PROBLEM
A lack of resources in recent years has left four pieces of wasteland, each the size of a football pitch, in the centre of Longley estate neglected and litter strewn.

“When the architects designed this place in the 1930s they were put in the centre of the estate, to give a sort of village green feel to it. The only foot traffic was from the person who cut the grass. He was the only person who dared set foot on it! I remember cutting through when I was young and having my earholes tapped! People passed them by. The gates were locked. Nobody used them. They were opened up to be used as a compound by Housing Services in the 1980s, but then nothing happened and they became run down.”

THE PROGRESS SO FAR
LOCAL have triumphed in the past, opening the country’s first ever community store in 1998, shortly followed by a community café. They have spent the last seven years trying to get something done about the Four Greens site and eventually formed a company to acquire ownership.

The Countryside Agency is funding the regeneration of two of the greens as a Doorstep Green (www.countryside.gov.uk), while funding to support work on the other two comes from the Living Spaces project.

GET INVOLVED
The site is beginning a total transformation. There are plans for a wildlife area with a damp meadow, new paths, raised gardens and partitioning walls to give more character. The canopies of trees and bushes are to be raised to let in more light. LOCAL are also working with the local schools.

Dave Haygarth, The Countryside Agency. T. 0161 237 1061, E. dave.haygarth@countryside.gov.uk ,
W. www.countryside.gov.uk