Natural England

In an innovative report the Forestry Commission and Natural England have mapped and measured all the countryside in the south east which is open to the public. The report shows that overall, nearly 140,000 hectares (345,000 acres – almost four times the area of the Isle of Wight) is available for us all, though it also confirms that many households lack accessible natural greenspace within easy walking distance.

This study makes the south east the first region in England to have such detailed information on public access land. The term ‘accessible natural greenspace’ is now widely used to describe those areas such as woods, meadows and downs where the public is welcome to wander 365 days a year. These are areas in addition to the fine network of footpaths that we already have in the region.

The mapping and measuring work shows that some 7% of the total area of the South East region is ‘accessible natural greenspace’. Much of that is in woodlands and in the areas of protected countryside, the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the New Forest National Park.

The report – ‘An analysis of accessible natural greenspace provision in the South East’ – also shows that, taking the region as a whole, 46% of households have access to a site of at least 500 hectares, 77% of households have access to a site of at least 100 hectares, and 66% of households have access to a site of at least 20 hectares. However, only 20% of households have access to a site within 300 metres; in other words, the majority of households do not have an area of accessible natural greenspace within easy walking distance.

This study was commissioned by Natural England and the Forestry Commission in collaboration with the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs - which cover about a third of the region). The findings will help to focus more effectively the use of grants to support public access. A standard measure has been applied across the region to combine population with available access provision – this is termed the ANGSt – the Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard.

The results for this standard vary widely across the region and figures are provided for all local authorities and protected landscape areas. These show that provision is greatest in parts of Surrey and South Hampshire and poorest in Oxfordshire, West Berkshire, North Hampshire and mid Kent. Two thirds of accessible greenspace lies within the AONB’s and, rather astonishingly, almost 60% of all accessible countryside is woodland. Forestry Commission land accounts for 35% of all accessible greenspace and a further 17% of the total is provided through access agreements with woodland owners through the Woodland Grant Scheme.

Alan Betts, Forestry Commission South East Conservator, says: “Getting out into the countryside is important for millions of people across the South East. Woodland is a major contributor to greenspace here. We are working both with woodland owners and through management of the public forest estate to increase and improve people’s access to these important areas, to link them up into a useable resource for people and wildlife to enjoy, and, through our active woods campaign, to promote more people to get out into woodland regularly. We will now be looking more closely at the way we spend Government money on providing access across the whole region.”

Alan Law, Natural England Regional Director for the South East, says: “One of Natural England’s aims is to get more people to enjoy the natural environment more often. We are working to bring about an increase in public access to greenspace. This is particularly important in towns and cities in the light of the housing pressures we all face in the South East. Access to natural greenspace needs to be part of the planning process, not least in the faster developing areas such as the Ashford and Thames Gateway growth areas.”

“This report does show that we have considerable areas of natural greenspace in many parts of the South East and it shows us where there are gaps. Access to natural greenspace plays a key role in everyone’s quality of life and can benefit their physical and mental health. We want to work with local authorities and other partners to fill those gaps and to help people have easy access to natural greenspace,” he adds.

The report is the result of a major analysis of greenspace provision across the South East - the first time such a study has been undertaken for an entire region. This gave it the widest possible context and means that detailed findings are available for all protected landscapes, as well as all districts, unitary authorities, and county councils in the South East.

ENDS

For further Natural England information please contact John Rennie, Natural England PR adviser, on 07976 666969 or email: jrennnie@dsl.pipex.com or Jenny Bowen at Natural England on 01273 407943 or email: jenny.bowen@naturalengland.org.uk. For the Forestry Commission, please contact Rebecca Britton on 01223 346027 or email :Rebecca.britton@forestry.gsi.gov.uk.

Notes to editors

1. The Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard (ANGSt) model says: That no person should live more than 300m from their nearest area of natural greenspace of at least 2 ha in size; that there should be at least one accessible 20ha site within 2km of home; that there should be one accessible 100ha site within 5km of home and that that there should be one accessible 500ha site within 10km of home. Its areas of search (up to 10km) extend from towns and cities into rural areas. The report – ‘an analysis of accessible natural greenspace provision in the South East’ – can be downloaded in PDF format from www.forestry.gov.uk/southeastengland. Note that the standard requires the sites to be accessible, without recourse to public rights of way, and without paying a fee.

2. Natural England was established by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Its purpose is to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development. Natural England’s Strategic Direction 2006-09 sets out how it will deliver this purpose through incentives, advice and regulation. This identifies four strategic outcomes Natural England will seek to deliver: a healthy natural environment, enjoyment of the natural environment, sustainable use of the natural environment and a secure environmental future.

3. The Forestry Commission is the government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. It works to ensure the protection and sustainable management of our woodlands. It is the largest provider of countryside recreation in Britain, with responsibility for over one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest, woodlands and open countryside.

4. AONB’s: There are 40 AONB’s in England and Wales (35 wholly in England, 4 wholly in Wales and 1 which straddles the border). Created by the legislation of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949, AONB’s in the South East include: South Hampshire Coast; Isle of Wight; Chichester Harbour; East Hampshire; Surrey Hills; Sussex Downs; High Weald; Kent Downs; Chilterns (also in East of England); North Wessex Downs (also in South West) and part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB.