More than 60 conservation, planning, health and professional groups have called on the government to embed nature at the very core of its ‘levelling up’ agenda, arguing that access to nature should be a legal right for everyone in the UK given its benefits for mental and physical wellbeing.
Launching a new campaign dubbed ‘Nature for Everyone’ today, groups including the Wildlife Trusts, WWF UK, National Trust, the Institute of Environmental Management (IEMA), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), are urging the government to boost access and funding for green spaces.
The campaign highlights the lack of green space access for more disadvantaged communities across the UK, and argues making equal access to thriving natural spaces should be a key measure of success for the government’s ‘levelling up’ reforms.
It follows the launch earlier this month of the government’s Levelling Up Whitepaper, which sets out proposals to variously boost investment, infrastructure, skills and prosperity across the North, Midlands, South West, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland.
But core to today’s campaign launch is the argument that a lack of accessible natural space is a key inequality which must be addressed if living standards are to be improved across the country.
Specifically, it calls for a “legal right to local nature”, backed by legal duties in forthcoming Levelling Up legislation to developers and public bodies to provide equal access to nature-rich green and blue spaces for everyone.
Moreover, it urges funding for locally-accessible and nature-rich spaces, including an extension of the Levelling Up Fund to include green and blue infrastructure projects.
Dr Richard Benwell, CEO of the UK’s largest environmental coalition – the Wildlife and Countryside Link – better access to nature would not only improve mental and physical wellbeing for people, but could also draw more attention and funding towards tackling the worrying decline of nature in the UK.
“The government says ‘levelling up’ means pride of place and equal opportunity, but for many people, this ends the moment they step out of their door,” said Benwell. “So many lives are worsened or shortened by disconnection from nature. So many could be improved by the chance to get active, get together and get in touch with nature. Unless levelling up includes a legal right to healthy local natural spaces, it will surely fail. This is the government’s chance to show that the benefits of nature are truly everyone’s to enjoy.”
It comes alongside a new YouGov survey of over 2,000 UK adults commissioned as part of the campaign which found huge public demand for more access to natural spaces, particularly among those in the most deprived and excluded regions of the country.
As much as 80 per cent of respondents said they supported the implementation of a legal right to accessing nature, with 83 per cent saying accessible local natural spaces should be more important post-pandemic.
It also found 85 per cent of respondents in nature-deprived areas believe more natural green spaces would improve their quality of life, while 83 per cent want greater protections to stop nature loss to development, and 85 per cent believe green spaces should be a much higher priority in green developments.
Mark Rowland, CEO of the Mental Health Foundation, said that connection to nature was “fundamental to good mental health”.
“We are facing a double threat from significant biodiversity loss in the UK and enduring inequality in access, which is leaving millions of people with little opportunity to benefit from nature,” he said. “It is not just the frequency of contact with nature that matters. The quality and abundance of nature is also vital in terms of the mental health benefits and that is why levelling up must mean delivering on nature’s renewal and a clear pathway to equitable access to nature across the UK.”
Others backing the campaign include the Association of Directors of Environment, Planning and Transport, the Association of Local Government Ecologists, the Royal College of Psychiatrists the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), and Greenpeace.
In response, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Local Communities said it welcomed the campaign and recognised “the huge importance that nature and green space have on the wellbeing and quality of life”.
“Our Levelling Up White Paper empowers local leaders and communities to reimagine their urban green spaces, improve access to nature and further enhance the greenbelt,” the Department said in a statement. “The Environment Act will also deliver the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth. The £9m UK-wide Levelling Up Parks Fund will provide grants to deliver over 100 green spaces in communities with the lowest access and a new £30m fund will pay to overhaul 30 local parks in England with a focus on improving facilities for young families.”
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