1 in 5 households lack access to green or blue space

The government has today published new data on access to green and blue spaces in England, which reveals that 20% of people do not live within a 15 minute walk of one. Such areas include parks, nature reserves, lakes, rivers and canals. Responding from Friends of the Earth, nature campaigner Paul de Zylva, said:

“Everyone deserves access to natural spaces that are teeming with life, and the many benefits they bring for the health and wellbeing of our communities and the planet.

“What these figures don’t tell us is the quality of the green and blue spaces people can access, where better provision does exist, and the other factors at play which determine who gets to enjoy nature and who doesn’t.

“As we were reminded last week in a shocking report about the UK’s progress – or lack of – in halting the decline of our precious plant and wildlife, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. It’s one thing having wild spaces on your doorstep, but they need to be places where nature can thrive – not degraded and polluted as so many are.

“The government has less than four years to get its nature targets on track – it must urgently change gear if it’s to meet its legal requirements.”

Last week, the government published its Seventh National Report on progress against its biodiversity targets as set out in the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) – an international agreement to halt and reverse nature decline by 2030. It found that the UK government is on track to meet only 3 of its 23 targets. The report was the first major temperature check since 2019.

ENDS

Notes:

1. Access to green and blue space in England – UK government data published 4 March 2026.

2. The Seventh National Report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which examined the UK’s progress on biodiversity targets in line with the Global Biodiversity Framework, was published on Saturday 28 February 2026.