According to a new study, the nation’s green space costs £ 25.6 billion in “welfare value” a year.
Scientists claim that this is in the face of the decisions of the councils for cutting natural areas.
The study, funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, created the Orval Outdoor Recreation Assessment Tool.
It assesses the value provided by each park, forest, river walk, country trail and beach in England and Wales, while identifying which residents enjoy the benefits of each green space and when they do.
Researchers who ranked each park in terms of value for money and well-being found that small parks provide the highest value for recreation and that three key factors for increased outdoor recreation are weather, good access to quality green space and ownership of dogs.
They also found the top 10 most valuable places to relax, all in or around urban areas. Hyde Park in London, Sutton Park in Birmingham and the Blaze Castle mansion in Bristol are the top three.
Brett Day, a professor of environmental economics at the University of Exeter and one of the study’s authors, said: “The great contribution of this study is that it gives a figure for the value of our green space: £ 25.6 billion a year.
“The magnitude of this benefit is in stark contrast to the deep cuts in green space budgets in the UK councils, cuts that threaten to condemn our green spaces to neglect and pollution.
“The Orval tool makes very clear the very real but often overlooked losses that people suffer as a result.
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“Access to recreation is not the same for all people, not only because of where they live, but also because of things like access to a car. Orval can show decision makers how to locate new facilities in a way that will provide the greatest benefit to disadvantaged groups and give them better access to the environment.
The report also found that dog owners are four times more likely to use recreational areas, but people from ethnic minorities and less affluent socio-economic groups are less likely to engage in outdoor recreation. , even when they have the same opportunities for recreation.
A white person is 1.8 times more likely to take a trip to a place of rest than a black person, and the richest socio-economic group is 1.6 times more likely to take a trip than the poorest.
Top 10 most valuable places for recreation
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Hyde Park, London – £ 24,101,440.
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Sutton Park, Birmingham – £ 15,627,180.
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Blaise Castle Mansion, Bristol – £ 12,921,910.
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Hampstead Heath, London – £ 12,149,370.
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Windsor Great Park, Windsor – £ 9,026,620.
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Crocstet Hall, Liverpool – £ 8,496,720.
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Ashton Court, Bristol – £ 7,773,005.
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Southampton Common, Southampton – £ 7,408,252.
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Butte Park and surroundings, Cardiff – £ 7,258,230.
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Greenwich Park, London – £ 7,090,455.
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