Green Party activists in Stoke-on-Trent have written
to the council calling for parks and green spaces in the city to be protected
from development.
The letter states that the ‘experience
of the past year has taught us the value of our home environment and its impact
on our physical and mental wellbeing’ and goes on to say this is that having ‘green
space within close walking distance of home is hugely beneficial, particularly
for individuals and households who do not have access to a private garden’.
Data
from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 12% of UK households
have no access to a private or shared garden, in London this rises to 21%.
Access to public parks is more evenly distributed with 86% of households having
access to one within ‘easy walking distance’ of their home [1].
The
letter cites research produced by academics from Cardiff University and Cardiff
Metropolitan University and published in the journal Landscape & Urban
Planning that examines the experience of people living in the UK during the
first peak of the pandemic [2].
The
research shows that access to public or private green spaces is a key
protective factor for health and wellbeing. Private gardens and public green
spaces such as parks are, the article concludes, areas deserving consideration
as an ‘essential health resource in times of crisis’.
A
spokesperson for North Staffs Green Party said, “we all know how valuable parks
and green spaces are to our health and wellbeing”, adding that “what we want is
to make sure that those in our city are protected in perpetuity”.
The
latter calls on the city council to work with the charity Fields in Trust to
create a Deed of Protection covering the city’s parks and other green spaces.
This would put in place robust protection for these sites whilst they would
continue to be managed by the council [3].
The
letter has been written as a response to the public consultation on the Local
Plan being prepared by the council that will inform development in
Stoke-on-Trent for the next two decades.
The spokesperson
for North Staffs Green Party said, “any local plan that does not place adequate
value on green spaces will not be fit for purpose”, adding that there is a “need
to build communities not just housing and access to nature is integral to doing
so”.
Research
produced by Fields in Trust shows that parks and green spaces in the UK have a ‘wellbeing
value’ equivalent to £ 34.2 billion and that being able to easily access green
spaces saves the NHS £111 million in reduced GP visits alone [4]. The potential
savings to the NHS could be even greater as the service struggles with a
backlog caused by the pandemic that could see 10% of patients having to wait
more than a year for treatment [5]
The
North Staffs Green Party spokesperson said, “it is more than clear that
protecting our parks and green spaces is vitally important and that is why we
are calling on the council to take this opportunity to act”.
[2]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204621000554?via%3Dihub
[3]http://www.fieldsintrust.org/what-is-protection
[4]
http://www.fieldsintrust.org/Upload/file/research/Revaluing-Parks-and-Green-Spaces-Summary.pdf
[5]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57092797
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