Access-to-nature crisis ‘on par with that of Victorian Britain’s filthy air’ — SkimNews
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- Wildlife Trusts research, conducted with Liberal and Democrats for Nature and Climate, found 238 English parliamentary constituencies (44% of the total) have 20% or more local properties more than 15 minutes' walk from green or blue space
- Seven of the 10 most economically deprived constituencies had low access to nature, with Wildlife Trusts citing direct parallels between economic and nature deprivation
- Matthew Browne, head of public affairs at the Wildlife Trusts, compared the crisis to Victorian Britain's 'filthy air' era and called for that same level of urgency applied to today's heat-driven challenges in urban areas
- The Wildlife Trusts' green paper calls for treating nature as essential infrastructure, making access to major urban rivers a statutory right, and making it mandatory for developers to build climate- and nature-friendly housing estates
- The government has yet to publish its own access-to-nature green paper one year after promising one last autumn, though a spokesperson pointed to nine new National River Walks, a Coast-to-Coast route and the 2,700-mile King Charles III England Coast Path
- Dom Higgins, the Wildlife Trusts' head of health and education, said natural urban spaces 'can literally save lives' by keeping air cooler and reducing strain on hearts and lungs
- A public consultation of 5,000 people found respondents actively sought out cool, shaded natural spaces during summer heatwaves when temperatures hit 38C
Why it matters: With 44% of English constituencies missing the 15-minute walk target and the link to economic deprivation firmly established, the Wildlife Trusts' push reframes nature access as essential infrastructure rather than a luxury—ratcheting pressure on a government that has sat on its own green paper for a full year as heatwaves turn nearby green space into a public-health necessity.
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