Towns and cities to benefit from £15.5m investment in access to green spaces
Kickstarting the programme, the group announced that 40 towns and cities will receive the first grants, worth a total of £15.5 million, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Portsmouth, Bradford, Fife, Torfaen in Wales and Belfast are among the areas to have been selected for the funding following an application and assessment process that started last autumn.
The money will help local authorities co-design plans with partners and communities for the provision, quality and connectivity of green spaces and nature, such as improving existing parks, planting new wildflower meadows, creating new pocket parks and planting more street trees.
It comes as part of the initiative's wider ambitions to mobilise £1 billion of investment into greening across 100 towns and cities from private, philanthropic and public sources over the next decade.
Eilish McGuinness, chief executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: 'I am delighted to announce an investment of £15.5 million which will help 40 towns and cities across the UK better plan their urban nature recovery, connecting people and communities to their natural environment in the places they live.
'We have invested over £1 billion in regenerating over 900 urban parks and green spaces over the last 30 years, helping nature thrive in towns everywhere – and this exciting initiative, working with partners right across the UK, will continue to build on this investment and give millions of people better access to nature close to home.'
Marian Spain, chief executive of Natural England, said: 'Nature helps us to improve our mental and physical wellbeing, mitigate the impacts of climate change and drive green growth through the creation of spaces for people to connect with nature, making better places for people to live, work and invest.
'Yet for millions of people in urban areas there is no green space within a 15-minute walk of their home.
'We are proud to be part of the Nature Towns and Cities project, helping millions of people enjoy nature and inspire communities to take part in nature recovery.'
Hilary McGrady, director general at the National Trust, said: 'By prioritising areas in the greatest need, we aim to help nature, beauty and history spring to life in some of the most nature-deprived places in the country.
'This necessary and targeted support combined with community outreach and excellent resources, will enrich places with green space and contribute to the healthy mind, body and future that people need.'
The Nature Towns and Cities initiative will be supported in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland through Natural Resources Wales, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and NatureScot.
Anthony Hunt, leader of Torfaen County Borough Council in south-east Wales, said: 'We want nature to flourish in Torfaen and for more people to experience its many health and well-being benefits.
'The funding will enable us to work with our communities and partners in new and innovative ways, so that together we can achieve more and make a real difference to nature recovery and keeping our communities healthy.'
As part of today's announcement, Birmingham has also been declared the UK's first official 'Nature City', with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) collectively named the first 'Nature Towns'.
The coalition said this designation recognises the local authorities' commitment with their partners in those places to transform life for urban communities by providing more and better nature and green space.
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