By Dr. Tim Sandle
April 2,2025
DIGITAL JOURNAL
A children's activity area. — Image by © Tim Sandle.
To maintain the UK’s current average green space of 30 square metres per person) the UK would have to create 4,000 new parks in the next eight years. This becomes especially worrying when you consider that 6.3 million people do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of their home.
An area is considered ‘green’ if a passable amount of inhabitants within a town, ward or village are within a 10-minute walk from a local park or green space provision. If an area meets the minimum provision, it receives a passing Green Space Index score (GSI).
This discovery is made worse by the news that 793 play parks have been closed down in the last 10 years – making accessible children’s playgrounds an increasingly rare asset to families. Recent data has found that parks near new housing developments have decreased in size by 40 percent in the last 20 years – having a negative impact on children’s mental and physical development.
The educational play firm Playdale Playgrounds, a Cumbria-based playground equipment manufacturer, was suffiicently concerned by this discovery. They have assembled a conclusive list of the North West’s most green areas, towns and cities. Using official statistics from the Green Space Index, Playdale Playgrounds has identified the areas that need the most support in constructing new, safe playgrounds and green spaces.
North West England is the UK’s fourth worst region for playground accessibility, with 37 percent of children living more than 10 minutes from a playground. Only eight out of 42 areas, and three cities/towns out of 20, in the North West meet Fields In Trust’s green space provision score.
Deep-diving these data reveals that Chorley is the greenest area in the North West, with 58.28 square metres of greenery per person. In addition, Carlisle is the greenest city in the North West, with 39.86 square metres of greenery per person. Burnley, Warrington and Wigan follow, with 38.13, 35.74 and 31.99 metres squared pp respectively.
In contrast, Blackpool is the worst city for access to green space per person, with only 15 square metres.
The distance of an average 10-minute walk is calculated using updated models of the UK’s road network, determining the walking distance between postcodes and entrance points to green spaces.
This method is used in conjunction with a more traditional method, as used by Natural England, where distance is calculated using buffer zones around green spaces. This calculation looks at how long it would take someone to reach this zone in their community, as the crow flies.
Some areas may have a higher green space index provision score, despite having more of the population not within a 10-minute walk of a green space. This is because the number of total green spaces may be less evenly distributed and further away from zones with more housing. However, the green spaces may be much larger, meaning that there is more green space by square metre for every person within that area.
Some areas are not classified as green spaces, despite containing natural greenery within them. These are areas which have primary functions at odds with the general public accessing nature for enjoyment or relaxation, including golf courses, cemeteries or common land.
As huge, expansive areas outside of stereotypical housing communities, national parks are also not included in this data set.
The North West is the third biggest region by population in the UK, coming in just behind London, with a staggering 7.6 million total inhabitants. Despite its huge size, the North West is the UK’s fourth-least green region out of 11, with 37 percent of children living more than 10 minutes from a green space.
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A children's activity area. — Image by © Tim Sandle.
To maintain the UK’s current average green space of 30 square metres per person) the UK would have to create 4,000 new parks in the next eight years. This becomes especially worrying when you consider that 6.3 million people do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of their home.
An area is considered ‘green’ if a passable amount of inhabitants within a town, ward or village are within a 10-minute walk from a local park or green space provision. If an area meets the minimum provision, it receives a passing Green Space Index score (GSI).
This discovery is made worse by the news that 793 play parks have been closed down in the last 10 years – making accessible children’s playgrounds an increasingly rare asset to families. Recent data has found that parks near new housing developments have decreased in size by 40 percent in the last 20 years – having a negative impact on children’s mental and physical development.
The educational play firm Playdale Playgrounds, a Cumbria-based playground equipment manufacturer, was suffiicently concerned by this discovery. They have assembled a conclusive list of the North West’s most green areas, towns and cities. Using official statistics from the Green Space Index, Playdale Playgrounds has identified the areas that need the most support in constructing new, safe playgrounds and green spaces.
North West England is the UK’s fourth worst region for playground accessibility, with 37 percent of children living more than 10 minutes from a playground. Only eight out of 42 areas, and three cities/towns out of 20, in the North West meet Fields In Trust’s green space provision score.
Deep-diving these data reveals that Chorley is the greenest area in the North West, with 58.28 square metres of greenery per person. In addition, Carlisle is the greenest city in the North West, with 39.86 square metres of greenery per person. Burnley, Warrington and Wigan follow, with 38.13, 35.74 and 31.99 metres squared pp respectively.
In contrast, Blackpool is the worst city for access to green space per person, with only 15 square metres.
The distance of an average 10-minute walk is calculated using updated models of the UK’s road network, determining the walking distance between postcodes and entrance points to green spaces.
This method is used in conjunction with a more traditional method, as used by Natural England, where distance is calculated using buffer zones around green spaces. This calculation looks at how long it would take someone to reach this zone in their community, as the crow flies.
Some areas may have a higher green space index provision score, despite having more of the population not within a 10-minute walk of a green space. This is because the number of total green spaces may be less evenly distributed and further away from zones with more housing. However, the green spaces may be much larger, meaning that there is more green space by square metre for every person within that area.
Some areas are not classified as green spaces, despite containing natural greenery within them. These are areas which have primary functions at odds with the general public accessing nature for enjoyment or relaxation, including golf courses, cemeteries or common land.
As huge, expansive areas outside of stereotypical housing communities, national parks are also not included in this data set.
The North West is the third biggest region by population in the UK, coming in just behind London, with a staggering 7.6 million total inhabitants. Despite its huge size, the North West is the UK’s fourth-least green region out of 11, with 37 percent of children living more than 10 minutes from a green space.
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