Unpave The Way

What was delivered

In collaboration with the Environment Agency, Lancashire County Council and the North West RFCC (Regional Flood and Coastal Committee), United Utilities created an educational garden as part of Unpave the Way. Unpave the way is an educational project aiming to transform gardens around the Northwest to be more biodiverse, resilient and sustainable by moving away from solely concrete front gardens.

The garden incorporated several principles which are being promoted by the rainwater management team as part of United Utilities’ goal to green the Northwest and make it more resilient. Amongst a carefully curated plant list filled with aesthetically pleasing flowers and highly water retaining species, the garden also featured a leaky water butt made of recycled materials, which helped to show that any member of public could get involved in rainwater capture and reuse from their own home.

What was the impact

The garden was presented at both the RHS Urban show and the RHS Flower Show in Tatton to demonstrate how households can help in United Utilities’ bid to slow water intake into our combined sewers, and in some cases help remove rainwater from the system entirely. The garden even featured on an episode of Gardener’s World and North West Tonight news. The garden was an overwhelming success with the public, who were heavily engaged in bringing rainwater capture methods into their own outdoor spaces moving forward.

The garden has now been moved to a permanent location in Lancashire, much to the delight of residents and visitors to Whitaker Park in Rossendale and will now be maintained by the Friends of Whitaker Park Community Group and Rossendale Council. It is the first of many opportunities for UU and partners to inspire and educate homeowners about the increasing importance of using sustainable drainage components in our gardens and to consider climate resilient planting schemes.