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The UK’s green spaces and infrastructure are “under serious threat”, and “urgent action is needed” to reverse their decline, MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee have said.
In a letter, the committee called on the government to prioritise green spaces and encourage more investment into green infrastructure.
It found there was “strong evidence” linking urban green spaces to a host of environmental and health benefits, but there is at present no statutory duty for councils to provide them.
With many councils facing severe financial constraints, green spaces are increasingly being underfunded as all available cash is spent on meeting their statutory responsibilities.
In a letter to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the committee said there was “a strong case” for a more robust funding programme to support investment, maintenance costs and staff resourcing.
The government “urgently needs to set out its plans to tackle recruitment concerns” facing local authorities, which can hamper the development of local strategies to create more green space, it said.
The committee also recommends that the government work with industry and Natural England to create a regularly updated national repository of best practice and mapping tools to enable local authorities to upskill their staff and invest in green spaces.
The MPs said there should be a central parks and a cross-government working group to “fly the flag for urban green spaces”.
The letter states that efforts to improve the issue are impeded by a lack of mandatory targets for urban green spaces and said they are threatened by housing developments. “[The] drive for profit and the culture of the housebuilding sector incentivises high-density builds and deprioritises engagement with local community needs; green spaces miss out as a result,” it reads.
The committee called on Defra to develop a clear set of responsibilities for developers and the construction industry.
In 2020, the government pledged to stick to the 30x30 target to protect 30% of the earth’s land and sea through the establishment of protected areas. However, a 2022 report found that only minimal progress has been made on plans to meet this commitment.
