Bringing nature home
Millions of people living in urban areas lack vital access to nature and green space. Nature Towns and Cities will tackle this by helping local authorities work together with communities and partners to bring nature into every neighbourhood for all to enjoy.
Everyone feels the benefit when nature is part of our daily lives. Evidence shows it makes us healthier, happier, more connected and more resilient. But years of squeezed resources and competition for urban space has meant that nature, green spaces and parks have been neglected or lost from many places.
Urban communities are suffering the effects - few green spaces to play, relax or socialise and neighbourhoods that are too hot, with polluted air and more likely to flood. Recent data shows that 87% of urban households in England (over 56 million people) don’t have access to green space within an easy 5 minute walk from home.
We’re committed to enabling 100 UK towns and cities become better places to live and work, by putting nature and green space at the heart of their priorities and investment. Through supporting their progress, we want to benefit those communities currently missing out, so that by 2035:
5 million more people have easy access to nature and green space in their neighbourhoods
1 million more children can grow and play in greener streets and spaces very close to home
We are including every kind of green and blue space freely accessible to people and where nature lives, from street trees to community gardens, from urban woods to historic public parks, from river and canal-sides to recreation grounds.
We’re offering places a package of support including funding to build capacity and partnerships, peer networks to share learning and practical solutions, and schemes to attract new investment.
The scale and urgency of this challenge requires a strong coalition of partners and funders from across UK society, business and government. We will build that collective around ambitious shared goals, respecting different strengths and prioritising local needs.
How it will work
Achieving the ambitious, long lasting changes we all want to see for the UK is challenging but achievable if we work together. We’re making it as easy as possible to take part, supporting organisations from across sectors to lead for change. We want to build Nature Towns and Cities together, learning and developing as we go, responding to the help that places need.
Explore what Nature Towns and Cities will offer:
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Open to all, and free to be a member. The Network will serve local government, community organisations, charities and professionals across the UK. You’ll have access to a programme of events and training, a library of resources, as well as tailored support. You’ll be inspired and helped by your peers, sharing what works and able to tap into collective wisdom to solve problems.
Join our series of network taster events online this autumn and read on to find out more about the Network below.
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A new accreditation scheme will be piloted in England in early 2025, to recognise towns and cities that put nature and green infrastructure at the heart of their plans.
Our aim is to provide assurance to funders and investors that your town or city is ready for investment and able to make change happen. This should help to unlock the financial resources your place needs to implement its plans.
To become accredited, you will need to show that you’ve laid the foundations for change, including community empowerment and participation, effective leadership, cross-sector delivery partnerships, and coherent improvement and investment plans.
Get in touch if you're interested in helping us test and improve the pilot accreditation scheme.
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The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced £15m in funding, with grants available across the UK from £250,000 up to £1m. The funding is designed to provide you with the capacity and headspace to plan your urban green space network for the long term. Apply for a grant to help you develop partnerships, leadership and capability, and the foundations for change. The plans you develop with your partners and communities will help you attract new income and investment for delivery and sustainability.
Find out more about applying for a grant on the Heritage Fund website. The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 12noon on 12 November 2024.
Apply for a grant
From now until 12 November, you can submit an Expression of Interest. Find out more on The National Lottery Heritage Fund website.
Our shared goals to enable a greener future for all
We’ll support local authorities, community organisations and their partners to improve and grow networks of green space throughout their towns and cities. From tree-lined streets and community greens to heritage parks and canal paths.
We aim to support at least:
1,000 existing green or blue spaces improved for people, nature and heritage
1,000 street or pocket parks developed in neighbourhoods lacking green space
100 major new green spaces created from urban centres to their fringe
Find out more about what we want to achieve:
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Enjoying time in green space and connecting with nature makes our lives happier and healthier. And that’s especially true for those of us who live in urban areas and the youngest in society. We will support local authorities, partners and community organisations to bring nature to people’s doorsteps, especially in neighbourhoods that are missing out, enabling 5 million more people to have access within a short walk from home.
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Every community is a unique mix of people and place, with different needs, energy and opportunity. Communities are fundamental to driving and sustaining positive change in their place. We’ll encourage the priorities of those communities to be at the forefront of decisions and stewardship of existing and new green spaces.
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The effects of climate change are increasingly apparent in our towns and cities. It’s often those communities suffering wider inequalities who feel these effects most keenly, despite doing the least to cause them. We’ll support places to adapt to a changing climate by identifying where and how they can make the most difference, for example through increasing tree cover and green, spongy surfaces.
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Our towns and cities can, and should, be part of nature’s recovery. It doesn’t need to be a choice between improving infrastructure and prioritising nature. We will support places to build green networks through their urban landscape, enabling people and nature to move and connect.
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Parks and green spaces give our towns and cities their distinctive character, culture and heritage, and give communities pride in their place. Combined with new natural infrastructure, this creates thriving and connected urban landscapes that are great places to live, work or invest in and actively travel around. Overall, we’re aiming for 10 million people to feel the everyday benefits of their green network being better managed for people, nature and heritage.
Join the Network
This is an open invitation to join the Nature Towns and Cities Network.
We know that Nature Towns and Cities aligns with ambitions across the public, voluntary and private sectors. From local authorities to businesses, from community organisations to government departments, from charities to philanthropists. We all want to see greener, healthier, thriving communities in our towns and cities. It just makes sense.
Learn how the Network could help you:
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For local authorities and the public sector
“Rethinking our parks, green spaces and the ways they connect across the city has been transformational in Edinburgh over the last 5 years. We were part of the Future Parks Accelerator programme, a precursor to Nature Towns and Cities, and this programme helped us find new ways of approaching nature-based solutions for our communities and maximising nature’s impact on our communities. We are now pioneers of Scotland's first Nature Network. With over 200 actions identified to manage, restore and enhance the urban landscape in Edinburgh, we’ve seen tangible changes on the ground which are making a difference for both people and nature.” (Linda Anglin, Edinburgh City Council)
As part of Nature Towns and Cities you’ll connect to a network of peers working on similar challenges and sharing answers. You’ll have access to the latest evidence, guidance and expertise to drive change and address the pressing challenges facing your area. From highways to health and social care to jobs and skills, it’s a way to tap into best practice, and unlock the benefits of nature for your communities and place.
We’ll support you to:
- Empower communities
- Build partnerships
- Write comprehensive green infrastructure and improvement plans
- Develop new operational and financial models
- Create an ambitious pipeline of costed projects
- Demonstrate your case for investment
Sign up to hear more about the Network when it launches.
And join us at our introductory online event programme this autumn.
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For voluntary and community organisations
“As a small charity, we know our community inside out, hearing from them what they need and want. We have so many ideas to improve our parks and surrounding neighbourhoods, but often don’t have the resources to make them happen. Over the past few years, we’ve been working with the National Trust, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and BCP Council to enhance our parks; the impact we’ve been able to have working together has been huge, and we’ve been able to make sure our community’s voice has been heard as part of that. We are excited by the opportunities we have to build on this work, bringing a true sense of community to our parks. Through our community cafes, growing spaces and volunteering opportunities, we can bring people and nature together.” (John Hanson, The Parks Foundation, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)
When we bring nature into the heart of our communities, towns and cities, the benefits are shared by everyone. Every tree, plant, community garden and open space leads to enhanced health and wellbeing, stronger community spirit, and greater resilience for the future. Community and voluntary organisations are vital partners, bringing irreplaceable local knowledge and willpower.
Nature Towns and Cities is here to connect you to a national network of like minds pursuing their own opportunities. We will provide access to evidence, expertise and best practice. And we will help communities unlock the benefits of nature in every aspect of civic life.
We’ll support you to:
- Attract investment into your communities
- Build productive partnerships
- Influence policy and delivery in your area
- Develop organisational resilience
Sign up to hear more about the Network when it launches.
And join us at our introductory online event programme this autumn.
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Images: ©National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra/Rob Stothard/Annapurna Mellor/Paul Harris/Annapurna Mellor