The Guardian ·
Access-to-nature crisis ‘on par with that of Victorian Britain’s filthy air’
Research finds many in England lack proximity to green and blue spaces as Labour urged to speed up manifesto pledge
Nearly half of all parliamentary constituencies in England have low access to nature despite a government target to ensure everyone is within a 15-minute walk from a green or blue space, new research reveals.
The analysis by the Wildlife Trusts comes as the charity presents a green paper to ministers in an attempt to speed up Labour’s manifesto promise to improve access to nature and promote biodiversity.
The research from the Wildlife Trusts and Liberal and Democrats for Nature and Climate (LDNC) has found that 238 English parliamentary constituencies (44% of the total) have 20% or more local properties situated more than 15 minutes’ walk from green or blue space (the latter an area with water, such as a river, canal, lake, pond, sea or other waterfront). Seven of the 10 most economically deprived constituencies had low access to nature.
