Green spaces are vital for urban life. They improve biodiversity, flood management and the look and feel of our urban centres. They are valued spaces for socialising and exercise. They can be essential elements of our communities. Improving them is an investment in our health and quality of life.

Half of the people in towns and cities in the North do not have access to green space within a 15-minute walk of their home, and only one in three have access within five minutes. The Covid-19 pandemic further highlighted the need to address the inequalities in access to quality greenspaces in urban areas and the associated health and wellbeing impacts. At the same time, how we use our towns and cities will be influenced by the continual changes in our working practices.

Whilst there is strong evidence linking nature and health, this does not appear to be matched by funding or financial mechanisms: there is a danger that unless addressed, the gap in health and productivity between the North and the rest of England could become even larger. Further, climate change means we need to enhance our cities resilience to rising temperatures and flooding as well as addressing poor air quality.

This “concept” aims to improve the quality of existing greenspaces and support the creation of new ones across Northern towns and cities, addressing the need for both capital and maintenance costs to be accounted for.

Research on the value of urban green spaces in the North – commissioned by the National Trust to inform Nature North’s thinking around how to generate large-scale investment in urban nature and green spaces – identified opportunities to better use green space to improve broader community, environmental and health outcomes.

We are currently exploring opportunities to unlock investment in urban nature recovery from those with an interest in maximising health benefits, building our insights and understanding of this sector to inform our future plans. Urban Nature North has an opportunity to build new cross-sector partnerships in urban places which recognise how green spaces can act as assets to support healthier people. This includes working with existing programmes and other organisations to support and build on their activities, including Nature Towns and Cities. To read more about Nature Towns and Cities and get involved, please visit the website.