The shelters, the result of collaboration with the local communities, are all specific to each park’s environment.

One can be used as a performance space, one provides a viewing space for a skatepark and football pitches and the third has its park’s natural play theme woven into the design.

A spokeswoman for the Green Heart Partnership, the arts and environment organisation which managed the project for Hertsmere Borough Council, said: “The aim is that these structures will become showcases for other local authorities wanting to find a solution for young people’s spaces in a creative and integrated way, which avoids alienating other sections of the community and provides an attractive landmark.”

11 Nov 2009

Community spaces for Hertsmere

Three parks in Hertsmere are set to benefit from the addition of new community shelters.

Called Hertsmere Community Spaces, the three structures will be installed at Phillimore Recreation Ground in Radlett, Furzefield in Potters Bar and The Moatfield in Bushey between late December and early January.

Hertsmere Borough Council (HBC) appointed The Green Heart Partnership to develop and manage the project - in partnership with Haring Woods Associates and design team Superblue.

The shelter at Phillimore Recreation Ground will also be used as a performance space by the variety of local community arts organisations and other community events.

Ed Sandham, HBC's sports and cultural services manager, said: "The three shelter designs are all unique to each open space and are far from the bog standard shelters that were popular a few years ago."

Read PDF of article

Read the full press release here

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Press release detailing the Building Futures initiative, a web-based guide launched by Hertfordshire’s local authorities encouraging developers to build more environmentally-friendly buildings in the county.

Read the full press release here

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Go to project page

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Funding has been secured from Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire Highways and the Elected Mayor of Watford’s Community Fund to start work on this neglected transport black spot.

 READ FULL RELEASE

Following a successful application to the Big Lottery Fund, Hertfordshire County Council is drawing up plans to redevelop the library at South Oxhey. The Green Heart Partnership will be facilitating a creative consultation working in collaboration with the County Council.

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“Grim and polluted”, “a pedestrian hazard”, “a traffic nightmare”. These were the opinions voiced by 85 local residents who, back in 2006 took part in a film by Rayna Nadeem as part of a Green Heart Partnership project about the area surrounding Robert Stephenson's Grade II listed bridge - better known as 'Bushey Arches', in Watford....

....Now funding has been secured from Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire Highways and the Mayor’s Fund to transform this area into an impressive and environmentally sustainable gateway to Watford.

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The event was an opportunity to show the plans to local people and answer questions about the designs for the new Pocket Park. Finishing touches are being made to the designs and work will start in January 2008, lasting six weeks so that the park will be finished in early spring, ready for people to come out and enjoy the first signs of warmer weather.

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Green Heart Partnership (GHP) has been working with East Herts, Barratts Homes, architects Chetwood Associates and artist Alasdair Currie, to create an innovative design for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Stort in Bishop’s Stortford.

Alasdair worked closely with the architects to come up with a design which responded to the Council’s desire to improve accessibility, improve the links between the new housing development and public transport and support the existing biodiversity which had established itself around the old footbridge.

Read the full release

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Planning Permission Approved For New Pocket Park In Stevenage

Planning permission has been approved for a pilot redevelopment of one of
Stevenage’s 86 ‘sunken’ roundabouts. Stevenage Borough Council, Green Heart
Partnership and Hertfordshire Highways are developing a Pocket Park that will be
a visually striking, useable and environmentally friendly space for residents and
employees to pass through or relax and take a break.

Read full press release

 Read the full article Regeneration and Renewal 13 April 07 (757 KB pdf)

 Stevenage masterplanning document (1.5 MB pdf)

	Creatively Capturing Community’s Perceptions:   Stevenage Town Centre Gardens
	Stevenage, Stevenage Borough Council  Perception AREA/Capital Development
	>>Read more about the Project

Stevenage Masterplaning Document Puts Community Consultation At The Heart Of New Gardens Design 

In September 2006, Green Heart Partnership (GHP) and HTA Landscape Design were appointed by Stevenage Borough Council to work with them to redesign the 3.85 hectare Town Centre Gardens in Stevenage.  Stevenage Borough Council chose to work with GHP because of their innovative approach and proven record in community engagement, and with their chosen partner HTA for their inclusive approach to placemaking.  

A booklet has recently been published to document the unique process of Perception AREA: Placemaking employed to develop the masterplan. The approach has brought the user back into the process of urban design, establishing the community at the centre. This process has given communities not just a voice, but also a valuable role within masterplanning, resulting in design decisions based upon current attitudes of the very people who use that space.

 Read the full article in Green Places April 07 (418 KB pdf)

	Redefining the Concept of ‘Park’ for the 21st  Century: Open Space
	Cross-county  Policy development
	>>Read more about the Project

 

 Read the Brief in Spaces & Places, April07 (439Kb pdf)

	Redefining the Concept of ‘Park’ for the 21st  Century: Open Space
	Cross-county  Policy development
	>>Read more about the Project

Read the full article in Spaces & Places April 07  (1 MB pdf)

 Visit the Gunpowder Park website 

 Read the full article in Horticulture Week (700 KB pdf)

	Redefining the Concept of ‘Park’ for the 21st  Century: Open Space
	Cross-county  Policy development
	>>Read more about the Project

Read the full article

The results of the Open Space project are now presented as an on-line guidance document that aims to break the habit of designing parks with single-purpose facilities and work towards a cohesive, multi-use concept of a park for the 21st century.

Read the full Press Release

Download the Open Space document (pdf)

	Redefining the Concept of ‘Park’ for the 21st  Century: Open Space
	Cross-county  Policy development
	>>Go to Project Page

	The Watford Observer reports on two distinctive proposals to transform the Bushey Arches roundabout into a "green gateway to Watford" ...Read the full article

Visit the Watford Bushey Arches project page

 

Read the full article in the January 07 Local Government News

The Watford Observer focuses on the Bushey Arches project: "Whether it's pigeon poo or traffic congestion, very rarely does the subject of Bushey Arches fail to provoke a reaction"..  Read the full article

Visit the Watford Bushey Arches project page

Read the full article in Green Places Jan 07 issue

 Read the full article in Link Magazine Winter 2006

 Read the brief in Green Places Nov 2006 issue 33

KAREN WHITEREAD a film and video artist who used Big Brother-style diary rooms to help an estate in Hertfordshire to decide what sort of community centre it wanted

"The challenge was to find a creative approach to consult with the community at Sele Farm, a large and deprived estate in East Hertfordshire, about their new community centre. (The old one, which was completely run down, was to be knocked down.) I worked out of the council office for three months. One of the first things I did was go out knocking on doors with a community police officer and asking people about their community — how long they’d been there, what activities they were involved in, what they wanted to see in the new centre. I spoke to about 300 people, filming their responses.

I also set up two Big Brother-style diary rooms — one for children and teenagers, in a rent office, and the second, for older people, in the Scout hut. I sat in each for two days, filming people’s responses to my questions — there were about 30 visitors to each room.

What was interesting was the misconception that some groups of people didn’t care about what others wanted. When asked what they wanted at the centre, the children, for instance, said a skateboard ramp, but they also said there should be opportunities for older people to play bingo.

I also sat in a hairdresser’s for two days, interviewing people while they had their hair done. What emerged was that there was a half-acre field near the site of the proposed centre which would make a good spot for the skateboard ramp — not too noisy. Other customers talked about their desire to have an outdoor garden — many flats did not have access to one; and proper football pitches that could be lit at night.

I also worked with A-level photography students at the local comprehensive, and got them to do portraits of people on the estate with a quote underneath about what they would like to see at the centre. Men were generally shy, but one Friday afternoon I went and sat in the pub and did about 15 interviews — they were much more relaxed while sitting having their pint.

I edited the footage into a 20-minute film which was shown to the council. They were pleased and I gather that it has had an impact on how the money will be spent. The film will be projected on to the side of a tower block on the day the centre opens."

If you have an example of good practice to share, contact us at: agenda@thetimes.co.uk

PARTNERS IN ART

The Green Heart Partnership (GHP) is an initiative between Arts Council England and 11 local authorities in Hertfordshire which aims to bring arts and the environment to the fore in local decision-making.

Its premise is that the arts improve quality of life and should be deployed in both the built environment — as a way of creating a sense of place — and in commissioned works, which help a community to build a sense of responsibility for public space.

The GHP also focuses on sustainability and in one project with Three Rivers District Council, the artist Simon Lee Dicker planned a park which emphasises “visual and sensorial experiences” alongside physical activity, and includes audio features, a giant earth mound with climbing walls, a spiral path and sculptured seating.

www.greenheartpartnership.org

The Times, Public Agenda, 17 October 2006

A fresh approach to consultation has been used to plan the redevelopment of a 6.3ha town centre park in Stevenage....Read the full article

Go to the Stevenage Town Centre Gardens Project Page

• A welcoming space
• Healthy, safe and secure
• Well maintained and clean
• Sustainability
• Conservation and Heritage
• Community involvement
• Marketing

**GHP is a lottery funded partnership initiative between Arts Council England, East and the 11 local authorities in Hertfordshire. It aims to effect social change through policy development and realise creatively led capital development through informed joined-up decision making, across arts and environment sectors.

***Stevenage Furniture Recycling Scheme works to support residents of Stevenage who are experiencing hardship or distress or are in need of furniture, household items or electrical goods.

For press enquiries contact Grant Elliott, Corporate Communications 01438 242300.

For further comment contact Strategic Developments Officer Dave Wells on 01438 242825.

For political comment:

Labour Bruce Jackson 01438 350323
Liberal Democrat Robin Parker 01438 724746
Conservative Graham Clark 01438 360538

http://www.beverleycarpenter.co.uk

Results of a creative new approach to regeneration and the improvement of community space are set to be revealed by Broxbourne Council as artist Simon Honey completes a ten week residency and consultation project on a Hertfordshire estate.

Honey was invited to live and work with residents to lead a multi-media consultation on the future of Wormley Community Centre and the surrounding area. As part of this unique project, facilitated and managed by the Green Heart Partnership, Honey developed the community consultation into a short film, which captures the needs and aspirations of local people. This film was shown to elected council members, residents and design specialists to directly inspire and focus redesign and planned improvement.

Living in an onsite flat, Honey was able to become a member of the community, talking to local people in their homes, in public spaces and through creative workshops. The Green Heart Partnership approach proves to engage and excite local residents much more effectively than traditional methods of consultation, encouraging them to actively participate in the creation of public spaces both in the long and short term.

Honey worked closely with Fundamental, the specialist architecture team, to engage the community through active educational workshops; the residents' contributions could therefore directly influence the design process.

The project has led to programming changes at the centre to be piloted later this year by the Broxbourne Borough Council and partners, with the outcomes of the DVD and workshops directly feeding into a masterplan of refurbishment and local environmental improvement options.

Wormley Community Centre is situated in an area with a large quantity of social housing and there have been some social issues in the past, such as anti-social behaviour and a lack of facilities for young people. By introducing creative practitioners to work alongside residents and provide them with a voice, Green Heart Partnership has helped Broxbourne Council to meet its specific needs and objectives to make the community centre a truly useful facility which local residents can really engage with.

Honey, who has worked on several projects involving community and public art, commented : 'I have worked on art and environmental projects like this previously. But I suppose the GHP experience differs from these: the fact that the money is already there and the systems are set up to ensure that something will come out of the consultation that will benefit the local community and long-term. It’s a sustainable approach, and if this
was not the case, then I would not have taken the project on.'

A spokesman for Broxbourne Council commented : ‘The film was presented to elected members at the Council’s Community Services Committee on 6 June. It was warmly received and members thanked the community for their support. The Green Heart Partnership has facilitated local community engagement in this consultation initiative in a highly creative and visual format, recording a valuable reference for the Council on local community needs. The Council and its partners are now looking to respond to this feedback in a range of service areas including recycling, community centre programming, providing more activities for young people, updating the community centre itself, and improving local housing environments’.

Rachel Drury, Head of Resource Development at Arts Council England East commented : 'Simon has demonstrated how an artist can empower a community to develop a shared vision for the future that will positively change their local environment and the way people relate to it and to each other.'

Residents on the Sele Farm Estate in East Hertfordshire have just finished working with artist Karen Lois Whiteread on a major new digital media project with the Green Heart Partnership, which has enabled the community to become fully involved in the regeneration of the local area.

Councillor Bob Parker commented, ‘The Green Heart Project on the Sele Estate has enthused local people to get involved in volumes that we would never have thought possible, and has proven how approaching things in a different, more creative way can encourage people of all ages and walks of life to become involved and to really take ownership of the project for themselves.’

The project has succeeded in facilitating local participation and leadership in discussions of how community life in Sele Farm can be improved, and has ensured that a diverse range of voices are heard in such debates. The workshops and activities undertaken in the community by Whiteread have strengthened a sense of civic pride and ownership of regeneration in the local area, in particular the redevelopment of the Sele Farm Community Centre.

One direct impact of the project has been in the way the redevelopments are being overseen. The Community Centre will be managed by a Committee of sixteen local people, many of whom were encouraged to join directly as a result of participating in Whiteread’s project. The Committee has also demanded that two of its number be young people from the local committee, entrenching the principle that all within the community be allowed to have their say.

Placing herself at the heart of the community in Sele Farm, Whiteread was able to take discussions out to local hairdressers, pubs, schools, and other community institutions. In this way, a wider range of residents were able to air their views than is normally possible through traditional communication processes.Whiteread’s project was based on a range of original activities and unorthodox interviewing strategies, in order to find new means of reaching local people and sourcing their views on how they feel about their facilities and their community. Methods like ‘Big-Brother’ style diary-rooms and door-to-door interviews
allowed the community to express themselves in a variety of different ways.

The recordings have resulted in a DVD, which presents the opinions, complaints and aspirations of the kinds of local residents who have previously been difficult to reach. A special public screening of the DVD will take place in the autumn, projected onto one of the Sele Farm apartment blocks, for everyone in the localcommunity to view. This unusual event will also mark the opening of the redeveloped Sele Farm Community Centre, which has been funded by East Hertfordshire District Council and the Riversmead Housing Association.

Hertfordshire initiative Green Heart Partnership (GHP) has been showcased as a national example of how the arts can help shape our living spaces as part of the Local Government Association's Cultural Services Conference 2006.

The LGA Conference on 'Supporting Local Government' was held last month in Norwich and aimed to look at the changing local government environment and the importance of cultural services. Rachel Drury, Head of Resource Development at Arts Council England, East said ‘I was happy to put Green Heart Partnership forward as Arts Council England's case study for the LGA's cultural services conference as it is an excellent example of what the Arts Council and local authorities can achieve by working together on ambitious, mainstream agendas. Together, we are driving forward an innovative model of arts-led regeneration in Hertfordshire that aims to involve the arts right at the start of designing truly sustainable communities.'

Green Heart Partnership is a collaboration between Arts Council England, East and eleven local authorities in Hertfordshire. GHP identifies existing needs within local authorities and develops cross-departmental teams to provide solutions. GHP facilitates the relationship between local government and creative practitioners to bring about effective arts-led regeneration. ‘The Green Heart Partnership demonstrates that a creative led team approach to delivering Local Government objectives does work,' commented Tony Beckwith. 'The LGA conference offered the opportunity to share the GHP success with a national audience and to showcase examples of progressive governance within the county of Hertfordshire.’

The Three Rivers District Council project presented at the LGA Conference workshop in Norwich by Tony Beckwith of Green Heart Partnership is an ideal example of the GHP method; whereby bringing artists and creative practitioners in at the earliest stage is having an impact on local authority planning policy. Artist Simon Lee Dicker was initially brought on board to develop an ambitious concept for a specific play area, but from working with the council officers , a more sustainable opportunity was identified that would assist planning officers and developers. GHP and Simon Lee Dicker helped to develop supplementary planning guidance notes for their Design of Open Space policy. These notes encourage innovative development of a recreation environment that engages diverse age groups, and serves a range of uses. The Three Rivers project is one of several innovative Green Heart Partnership initiatives which demonstrate a creative approach to achieving a better quality of environment.

Green Heart Partnership is a forward-thinking initiative supporting individuals and teams who challenge existing practice to work towards a joined-up approach that equally values the process and the end product. GHP considers that ‘art’ is a part of how we address our public realm, and not solely an isolated portion of the physical environment. By working with all of the Hertfordshire local authorities to develop new models of creative cross-departmental working practice and supported in partnership with the Arts Council England, East, this initiative is pairing the arts with the environment and capital development departments to explore how creative-led collaborations can assist in creating more engaging, appealing and environmentally sustainable communities.

Green Heart Partnership is looking for artists to create concept drawings illustrating a more holistic vision of facility and environment that play a vital role in policy documents affecting public realm and open space design. This work will also demonstrate viability through a collaborative process which places the artist as a member of the team with local authority officers. The team will collectively work towards an innovative and defined vision, creatively developing within the aims and objectives of the local authority.

The artist will be expected to engage with, and be informed by, the team and other identified specialists. They will also be expected to research materials and technologies to develop designs for environmentally sustainable and usable open spaces.

We are looking for artists who are interested in:

• Developing innovative methods
• Creating high-quality end products
• Collaborating with professionals outside the arts
• Identifying the creativity and value in others
• Reaching the marginalised members of the community

Please send covering letter explaining your interest in this arena and a CV demonstrating your diverse experience, plus at least one reference from a project manager/ local authority officer/ arts director/ administrator. Please also send the resulting documentation of at least one project [e.g. website address, booklet, film, images, etc] where possible.

Please see www.greenheartpartnership.org and also read through the archived newsletters for case studies of existing projects.

Send to: Sherry Dobbin, Projects Manager, Landscape+Arts Network Services
sherry@gunpowderpark.org, 01992 762 128
At: Gunpowder Park, The Field Station, Sewardstone Road,
Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 3GP

We are interested in a broad diversity of applicants: culture/ethnicity, media or approach

Green Heart is offering a limited number of opportunities for local artists to get a glimpse of this way of working. Lead artists on Green Heart Projects have been able to develop a dynamic relationship with a team incorporating a broad range of expertise; an experience which is informing the development of their own practice, and will benefit the shadow artists in a similar way.

This opportunity would suit a professional artist/creative practitioner who has interest in the public realm and developing new models of community engagement. The shadow artist should have good communication skills and a collaborative, professional approach to their work.

Each shadowing opportunity will be uniquely tailored to an individual project, and will be agreed and contracted between the shadow artist, the Green Heart Partnership and the Local Authority in question at the outset of the project. The shadow artist role will include dissemination of information about the project you are shadowing through engaging with the local arts community and contributing to the Green Heart e-newsletter.

You will:

• Gain experience of working with a local authority as part of a creative cross-departmental team.
•  Gain experience of working with the Green Heart Partnership - a nationally significant initiative.
•  Have the opportunity gain skills and advice from a lead artist of national profile.

You will have the opportunity to access key moments in the life span of a project. This may include:

•  Away Day at Gunpowder Park with cross departmental team to develop project
•  Visit to site with lead artist
•  Meeting with cross departmental team and lead artist to review progress
•  Shadowing lead artist in the community during creative consultation

As part of your role in the project you will be expected to:

• Provide an evaluation of the experience you have gained to the Green Heart Partnership and the relevant Local Authority
• Make a contribution to the Green Heart e-newsletter in format agreed with the Communications Team
• Creatively engage with the local arts community to give them information about the project, with support from the Arts Development Officer on your project.

Lorna Green, lead artist said:
“As a sculptor and environmental artist who frequently works on large scale projects -parks, earthworks, and courtyards- used and enjoyed by the public throughout the world, I have come to appreciate the value of working in a team of all involved parties. Each member of the team brings their own area of expertise from which we all learn resulting in a workable and exciting project.”

Simon Lee Dicker, lead artist said:
“My previous experience has been to work for rather than with local authorities.
It is common practice to employ artists at a late stage in public projects with the idea that the art element will add the finishing touch to a particular development. The approach taken by the Green Heart Partnership was to get me involved as early as possible so I could develop a relationship with the Three Rivers team and help to formulate ideas for the artistic content from the outset.”

The post will involve an average of ten days of contact time during the lifespan of the project, to be agreed and contracted at the outset. Shadow artists will be offered a bursary (at a rate of Pound50 per day) to cover travel expenses and subsistence.

Shadow artists will not be expected to act as a second pair of less well paid hands. Any additional work arising from the project will be formally contracted between the shadow artist and the Green Heart Partnership.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact your local Arts Development Officer, or in their absence, the County Arts Development Officer for an initial discussion, before submitting an application to the Green Heart Partnership.

Your application should include:

• A covering letter explaining why you are interested in this bursary and how it would further your career development.
• CV demonstrating your experience and work that you feel is most relevant to this realm
• Documentation of relevant work [e.g. website address, booklet, film, images, etc] where possible.
• A professional reference [e.g. Project Manager, Arts Development Officer, Commissioner]
• Please highlight any existing commitments and dates on your CV or in the body of your letter.

Please send your application to
Nicola Paddick, Project Co-ordinator, Green Heart Partnership at:

The Field Station, Sewardstone Road
Waltham Abbey EN9 3GP
01992 762 128
m: 07974 770949
nicola@gunpowderpark.org

On Thursday 26 January, Simon held a ‘social evening’ at the centre to record further feedback, and provide an opportunity for people living locally to meet and find out more about the project, offer consultation feedback and talk to the community architect team and Council officers. Ideas from the session include new programming ideas for the centre as well as providing a kick-about area nearby and updated, more flexible space within the community centre itself suitable for a wider range of activities, including a youth club.

Well over 90 consultation recordings have been achieved so far from local residents including young people, housing tenants, hiring groups and organisations.

Simon Honey is a multi-media artist and will present his consultation in a film. A community ‘screening’ will be organised in March to show the film at the community centre. The project’s community architects will be organising a series of local workshops to develop the consultation ideas further.

Simon is using a local flat close to the community centre as his base, so he gets to know the area, and its residents during the project. He is gathering consultation feedback in a variety of ways including door-to-door visits, interviews, street work with local young people, and drop-in sessions with individuals / groups.

The consultation work will continue until 3 February and any queries or comments can be made to the Council on 01992 785555 ext 5906 or by leaving comments or messages for Simon at the shop next to the Community Centre.

http://www.broxbourne.gov.uk/internet

Artist Karen Whiteread is seeking residents’ views on what they’d like to happen at the new Sele Farm Community Centre on The Ridgeway and how they’d like the surrounding green spaces improved.

The old community centre is being demolished and the council is putting Pound300,000 towards a new centre, with the rest – some Pound200,000 - coming from Riversmead Housing Association. The centre will have a large dividable hall, a kitchen and an office and will be run by a management committee.

Karen is opening the diary room at The Scout Hut, Burnett Square on Monday and Tuesday, February 13 and 14, where everyone is invited to enter and have their say between 2-5pm. Karen will be recording people’s ideas and suggestions for a DVD which will be used by East Herts Council and other relevant organisations to help develop an innovative community vision for the centre.

She’s also lined up some exciting projects at The Sele School for pupils to have their say on the DVD. Photography students will be taking pictures of all the young people who live on the estate while GCSE and A level music students can enter a competition to write the background music.

Drama students will be performing sketches, there’ll be a dance piece based on the parties that people hire the centre for and there’s even a special football tournament which will be recorded for the DVD.

Karen will also be talking to elderly residents of Carlton House sheltered housing to get their views.

The project is part of the Green Heart Partnership, a three year arts and environment project taking place across Hertfordshire and funded by local authorities and The Arts Council England, East. The partnership was also awarded a lottery bid of Pound180,000 over three years for work across the county.

East Herts Council’s ward member for Sele Farm, Helle Penson, said: “I’m pleased that all of us have an opportunity to give our opinions and it sounds like it will be fun too.”

Executive member for community development, Bob Parker, said: “Sele Farm Community Centre is an important focus point for residents and there’s a great range of projects here which are using some innovative ways to collect residents’ views.”

If you’re interested in being involved in the project, email karen.whiteread@eastherts.gov.uk or call 01992 531613.

www.eastherts.gov.uk

Bright Sparks is the core activity for the research and development strand of Gunpowder Park’s year round programme of arts, science and nature, developed and delivered by Landscape + Arts Network Services in partnership with Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

Green Heart Partnership’s Bright Sparks award will go towards supporting creative solutions that address Hertfordshire’s county-wide needs and aspirations pertinent to open space development and renaissance. Bright Sparks overall is aimed at international creative practitioners from the fields of art and design who can demonstrate, through their portfolio, a successful level of working practice from concept development through to implementation. The ‘idea’ (the Bright Spark) must be intellectually and politically current, informed through working practice.

The value of the award for each proposal is up to Pound10,000, inclusive of expenses and materials. The resources available to awardees will include support from the Gunpowder Park team, Bright Sparks ‘champions’ and partners, the Gunpowder Park landscape and Field Station facilities.

Primary funding for Bright Sparks comes from Arts Council England, East and Arts Council England, London, with additional funding and professional support from Knowledge East, a new consortium of eight higher education institutions in East London and the Thames Gateway. The Landscape Design Trust and their journal ‘green places’ are confirmed media supporters.

The official launch of Bright Sparks on 18 January 2006 at the Arts Council England, London offices, will bring together key Chief Executive and Director level representatives from Gunpowder Park / LANS partners in both the public and private sectors, creative practitioners from all related disciplines, funders and the media to celebrate the launch of this three year programme.

http://greenheartpartnership.org/newsletter/december/index.htm

Green Heart Partnership is working with all of the Hertfordshire local authorities to develop new models of creative cross-departmental working practice. Supported in partnership with the Arts Council England, East, this initiative is pairing the arts with the environment and capital development departments to explore how creative-led collaborations can assist in creating more engaging, appealing and environmentally sustainable communities.

We are looking for artists who are interested in:

• Developing innovative methods
• Creating high-quality end products
• Collaborating with professionals outside the arts
• Identifying the creativity and value in others
• Reaching the marginalised members of the community

GHP is a forward-thinking initiative supporting individuals and teams who challenge existing practice to work towards a joined-up approach that equally values the process and the end product. GHP considers that ‘art’ is a part of how we address our public realm, and not solely an isolated portion of the physical environment.

This is an exciting opportunity to engage as an integral part of this country’s largest supporter of the arts: local government.

Projects will take place throughout different councils of Hertfordshire. Some projects have imminent start dates; others TBD.

Send cover letter explaining your interest and describing your most innovative practice in this arena to date, and a CV demonstrating your experience and diversity in this realm and at least one reference from a project manager or director. Please also send the resulting documentation of the project [e.g. website address, booklet, film, images, etc] where possible.

Please include existing committed dates on your CV or in the body of your letter. We shall forward more detailed briefs as appropriate projects arise.

Send to:
Sherry Dobbin, Projects Manager, Landscape+Arts Network Services
sherry@gunpowderpark.org, 01992 762 128
at Gunpowder Park, The Field Station, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 3GP

We are interested in greater diversity of the applicants: culture/ethnicity, media or approach

Please subscribe to the e-newsletter to receive regular updates on the Green Heart Partnership.

http://www.greenheartpartnership.org

Following a successful first year, the Partnership is already set to exceed its Pound1m budget. The Partnership, focuses on the theme of Hertfordshire and its environment because of the central importance of 'green' issues to those who live and work in the county.

The e-newsletter is issued every two months and includes updates about projects, upcoming events and seminars, profiles of the people involved, and greater detail about the Partnership.

"The Green Heart Partnership is doing something genuinely new and in some ways, perhaps, is a bit challenging to understand from a conventional viewpoint,” said Robert Ellis, Leader of Hertfordshire County Council. "Central to Green Heart is the productive dialogue between pragmatic, practical council concerns and creative practitioners and artists who help these teams achieve ambitious results. Already they are working together to develop new ways of improving people’s quality of life in both the urban and the rural environments in our county.

“This e-newsletter will be a very valuable working tool for the partners, as well as informing the greater community about the success of the Partnership,” says Michael Woods, Chief Executive of LANS. “Local Authority Arts Development Officers have already put forward a successful and diverse shortlist of projects around the theme of ‘open spaces,’ and this e-newsletter will help put faces to the names of those involved.’’

Everyone is welcome to subscribe to the e-newsletter.
http://www.greenheartpartnership.org

‘We need to constantly challenge the ‘norm’ through the development of new working methods that introduce the Artist sooner rather than later. We need new methods of so-called consultation that actually informs our designers rather than constraining them,’ said Mr Beckwith. He sited a good example of this working practise demonstrated on a small scale at Lee Valley Park, where he is the Arts Development Manager and Artistic Director for Gunpowder Park. Replacing a burned traditional wooden bird hide, the new Plover Hide (see image) located at Hall Marsh Scrape is a galvanised steel multi-functional structure evoking flight through the shape of a bird’s wing. By commissioning the artist Anita Rivera to work with the Country Parks Manager and the young people in the area, Mr Beckwith was able to involve the targeted troublesome group and incorporate them into the creative process alongside the artist to develop a high quality, attractive, multi-functional build for the same cost as a standard catalogue product.

His vision of a partnership which gave attention to the importance of achieving value for money and a higher quality end product, which also incorporated an innovative and active community consultation, received overwhelmingly positive feedback from councillors, the Summit’s regional key note speakers and authority officers alike.

Andrea Stark, Executive Director, Arts Council England, East said: "Through the Green Heart Partnership, Arts Council England East, Hertfordshire's local authorities and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority are driving forward an innovative approach to arts-led regeneration in Hertfordshire that aims to involve the arts right at the start of the planning process. Green Heart is a forward looking partnership that will help to create vibrant communities that have a greater sense of local pride and quality of life."

Green Heart Partnership, Hertfordshire is looking for a consultancy to deliver a three-year formative and summative evaluation that will record and inform the development of a county-wide Pound1 million+ partnership.

Background

Green Heart Partnership is a cross-cutting initiative that connects Hertfordshire’s arts and environment sectors

The partnership is Hertfordshire’s Local Government Arts Forum (LGAF) 3-year project, with partners: the Arts Council England, East; Hertfordshire County Council; the 10 district and borough councils; and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Core funding is supported by local authority subscriptions, which are matched by the Arts Council, though and additional raised funds.

Fitting within The Arts Council England, East’s larger agenda for the Local Government Arts Forum, the broad goals for the GHP address the following points below:

• To deliver a portfolio of highly visible projects that produce quality evidence to support the case for the arts impacting on the local government agenda.
• To raise the capacity and ambition of the region’s local authorities by improving the corporate positioning of the arts
• To use the success of these partnership projects to win increased investment for the region

The Vision for GHP

The Green Heart Partnerships ethos is that the arts can play a central part in helping people make sense of the natural and built environment. Through an exciting body of artist-led projects, Hertfordshire residents will explore issues from recycling to urban planning to the preservation of the green belt. The aspiration is that GHP can be a permanent force in the public understanding of the built and natural environment and emerging policy around environmental issues informed by artists and arts practice. This evaluation will be central to shaping the initial work programme and working with a range of funders to create a legacy for this project.

Outcomes of the evaluation

We are looking for a consultancy interested in an innovative approach towards evaluation including:

• the production of an evaluation framework which develops cost effective and unobtrusive data collection process to built into the product delivery
• the collection and analysis of quantitative data
• the collection and interpretation of qualitative data measuring initial and evolving perceptions, aspirations, and attitudes of partners and participants
• the development of evaluation processes that record impact on the participating artists, local authorities and planning bodies and members of the community
• the evaluation of the management and decision making processes – especially the ability of the GHP to effect changes in established ways of working in the Local Authorities and other environmental bodies
• the development of ideas that make use of technology and digital media

The resulting analysis should inform a culture in the partnership of continual improvement in product delivery. It should also build an evidence base reflecting the impact arts-led activities have on local government agendas.

The evaluation methodology must address the following LGAF advocacy objectives:

• To gather and publish clear and credible evidence about the contribution made by the arts in each priority area, particularly from existing initiatives and sources
• To improve understanding of what interventions produce the best results, and disseminate clear, principled good practice guidance
• To reinvent advocacy within local authorities, regional bodies and at a national level, ensuring that we have compelling stories to tell and can put them across effectively

Contractual Relationship

This initiative is managed by Landscape + Arts Network Services at Gunpowder Park, Waltham Abbey on behalf of the Green Heart Partnership. The work of the consultancy would be monitored via regular meetings with the GHP Steering Group.

Timescale & Budget

The partnership project is initially due to run for three-years to December 2007, exclusive of final evaluation, but with the hope that its success will be creating a sustainable future.

Application Procedure

The deadline for applications is Monday 25 July. They should include:

1. A summary of your organisation and track record
2. A description of how you will approach and deliver this work
3. Details of the staff who will form part of the team with daily rates and
4. Standard terms and conditions
5. References from two organisations for which you have delivered similar work.
6. A fixed price quotation and hourly rates for any contract variations. The quote should be exclusive of VAT and a budget to cover expenses should be included.

Please submit you applications ideally by email, or by post to:

Name: Sherry Dobbin, Projects Manager, Landscape + Arts Network Services
Email: sherry@gunpowderpark.org
Address: Gunpowder Park, The Field Station, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, EN9 3GP

The appointed members of the GHP Steering Group will consider all applications the week of 25 July and invite short listed agencies for interview on Thursday 4 August At the interview short listed agencies will be asked to present how they would approach the delivery of this brief in accordance with the strategic goals.

The selection criteria for short listed agencies will include:

• A track record of forward-thinking models of evaluation
• The innovation proposed in the methodology of ways of working
• The attempts to reinforce the validity of all data by cross referencing the data collection with data from several sources
• Previous track record of delivery and relevant experience and competencies within the team proposed for the delivery of the evaluation
• Knowledge and understanding of the arts funding and local government sectors
• Knowledge and understanding of the role for arts in delivering on social and economic agendas
• Knowledge of environmental issues (desirable)
• Value for money

If you have any queries about this brief or would like to discuss it with someone before submitting a tender, please contact Sherry Dobbin, Projects Manager, on 01992 762 128 or sherry@gunpowderpark.org

For more information, including the VISION, please visit www.greenheartpartnership.org

The seminar, 'CONNECTing Creativity', was organised by the Green Heart Partnership - a major initiative, launched six months ago, which is steadily working through an ambitious agenda to bring together professionals and local authority officers from the arts and environment sectors. By combining the existing financial and personnel resources of both sectors, constituents will achieve best value for money to enhance and redevelop communities across Hertfordshire.

During the day, three key speakers - each with exemplary planning credentials - gave presentations exploring different aspects of the main theme of the role that creativity has to play in the development process:

• Jon Tiley, the Head of Forward Planning at Hertfordshire County Council, who was formerly involved in the redevelopment of London's Docklands in the 1980s, spoke about the regional strategic planning and its relevance for Hertfordshire. He placed importance on the “quality of communities we create”.
• Neil Hall, the Project Leader for Civic Renewal at the City of Westminster, who is responsible for a Pound20 million renewal of London's West End, spoke about the role of creative processes in action plans for redevelopment.
• Fred Manson, a former Director of Regeneration and Environment at the London Borough of Southwark (including development of Tate Modern, the new GLA), and Design Panel Member for CABE (Commission for Architecture for the Built Environment) provided a vision whereby Hertfordshire could take advantage of the Green Heart Partnership’s working models to lead government policy and agendas.

"Some people may wonder why a conference about the arts would focus so intensely on major urban planning, but really this in many ways reflects the core of the Green Heart agenda,” said Tony Beckwith, GHP Steering Group member and Arts Development Manager for Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. "There's still an ingrained tendency for many people to see art and creativity as a kind of optional add-on to the real, practical business of putting up buildings, and this is something that the Partnership is working to overcome. After all, the buildings and public spaces that make up urban centres aren't just part of the environment - in effect they are what defines that environment for the people who live in it. What it looks like and how they experience it then becomes crucially important for their quality of life.”

This seminar follows presentations and working discussions with HEF (Hertfordshire Environmental Forum), Arts, Leisure and Community Development Officers, Borough of Broxbourne, St Albans City & District Council, and HCC senior Environment Officers. Concurrently, Arts Development Officers have been creating district working groups made up of planning, environment and community officers.

Additional presentations and seminars will reach out to the arts organisations, environmental associations and charities, as well as the local arts groups and individual artists.

Members of the public, local and county members, and professionals can now sign-up to the e-newsletter mailing list on the website. The first e-edition will be available mid-May. www.greenheartpartnership.org.

Working under the banner of 'Green Heart', the initiative will involve all ten local authorities in the county, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, Hertfordshire County Council and Arts Council England, East. Green Heart focuses on the theme of Hertfordshire and its environment because of the importance of 'green' issues to all the communities in the county. It will use the arts as a tool to address environment themes both district and countywide. The three themes are Environmental Sustainability, Urban & Rural Renaissance and Social Cohesion.

Between them, the partners will be contributing Pound390,000 to fund the initiative over the next three years, and this is expected to attract 'match funding' of a further Pound570,000.

Green Heart is set to deliver a wide range of long-term benefits, including:

• Improving the quality of lives for our communities
• Combining resources for arts and environment
• Promoting environmental sustainability

"At a time when, perhaps, many people tend to be rather cynical about the relevance of art to practical affairs, let alone local government, we very much welcome the fact that the Green Heart Partnership will be going all-out to put public art right at the heart of the environmental agenda," said the County Council's (Chairman) Keith Emsall. "Throughout history, the arts have been instrumental in shaping people's ideas about what is valuable in the world and have even made a direct impact on the environment itself.”

For the launch Green Heart commissioned four pieces of performance art - each based on an existing piece of public art in the county - to coincide with the launch event. Each one involved two Hertfordshire based arts organisations and was performed locally in the two weeks running up to the launch. An extract from each piece was presented to the audience at the launch event itself.

The four pieces of public art chosen were Hatfield Cairn, by Andy Goldsworthy; Memory Wall by Carl Fleischer (Watford); Tree of Life by Jane Muir (Bishops Stortford); Urban Elephant by Andrew Burton (Stevenage).