Government unveils plan for everyone to live a 15-minute walk from nature
The UK government has unveiled a new plan by Natural England that aims to recover England’s nature and bring more green spaces closer to more people.
Natural England, the statutory adviser for the natural environment in England, has published its strategy on Recovering Nature for Growth, Health, and Security, which lays out its goals and strategic outcomes for the years ahead.
Amongst its headline outcomes is the promise that in the future, more people will be engaged outdoors in natural spaces, and everyone will live within a 15-minute walk of nature.
Natural England plans to work with councils, property developers, and businesses to help build places that integrate and accommodate nature. It hopes to embed nature in spatial planning and deliver more nature closer to where people live.
It will work to ensure that more businesses are embedding nature into their operation, such as using green infrastructure standards to deliver housing alongside nature’s recovery.
As part of the Nature Towns and Cities programme, it will set standards for urban green infrastructure and offer accreditation to encourage adoption.
The plan also aims to have at least 30% of land and sea effectively managed and conserved by 2030, with species decline halted.
Natural England engaged with more than 200 partners across business, local government and communities to create its strategy, bringing the public and private sectors together to drive investment in nature.
“Nature provides the foundation stones of our growth, health and security. The threats facing nature today are also threats to our way of life,” said Natural England chair Tony Juniper.
“The scale of the challenge facing us means that we need to increase our ambition for nature recovery and change the way we have worked.”
“Succeeding means thinking carefully about where and how to target our efforts so that we can do bigger and better, as well as promote collaboration on nature across society,” Juniper said.
