Fields in Trust

Photo by Antoni Shkraba: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-writing-on-white-paper-on-macbook-pro-5243989/

The important role of parks and green spaces in the National Planning Policy Framework

Posted in Comment & Policy on 9th September 2024

By Alison McCann, Research and Policy Manager at Fields in Trust. 

In this blog, Alison McCann, Research and Policy Manager at Fields in Trust discusses the current consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the significance of parks and green spaces in creating healthier communities.

Like many others, I’m now immersed in depths of the current consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). For those that are not familiar with it, the NPPF sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how they should be applied locally. It shapes everything from where new homes are built, to how we use green spaces in our communities.

This week, it was encouraging to hear Joanna Averley, the Government’s Chief Planner, reaffirm a crucial point: green spaces should be at the heart of how we design our towns and cities. We need to properly plan for green infrastructure as an integral part to how we think about places and individual development schemes - all of which are underpinned by good design. The consultation does give recognition to accessible green space being an integral part of making quality places. Now we need to make sure the policy backs it up. 

Fields in Trust will be mainly honing in on two key areas in the consultation:

  • Securing benefits for nature and public access to green space
  • How national planning policy can better promote healthy communities.

We’ll also flag anything else that needs strengthening to ensure everyone has access to green spaces close to home.

Photo by Antoni Shkraba: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-writing-on-white-paper-on-macbook-pro-5243989/

The NPPF review is an important step to help decision makers to raise aspirations around quality place-making. The Planning system needs to evolve further to include a revaluing of public parks and green spaces as essential public infrastructure - not as an afterthought, but as a core part of urban design.

Working collectively and using various tools including Fields in Trust’s Guidance for Outdoor Sport and Play and the Green Infrastructure Standards gives a solid base for quality design-led solutions. Strengthening policy so that the proposed golden rule ‘new residents need to be able to access good quality green spaces within a short walk of their home’ applies to all new developments, regardless of where it happens, would shift the dial on addressing the current inequalities of access.

Credit: Fas Khan via UnsplashTwo boys looking at a skyline of London from Greenwich with pockets of green space

Earlier this year, Fields in Trust contributed to a Select Committee inquiry that highlighted the fact there is currently zero mention of the impact of development on children and young people in national planning policy. This needs to change. Children deserve safe quality outdoor spaces for play and recreation, which are vital to their development and health.

Where we live has a measurable effect on our physical and mental health. Trade-offs are inevitable when it comes to land-use, but good things should stem from strong policymaking rooted in sustainable development goals and a clear, over-arching purpose. In the end, planning is about more than just building houses—it’s about shaping the future health of our society.

By taking a bolder position in the NPPF that helps to secure universal access to quality public green space as part of the Government’s housebuilding agenda, we can ensure it also delivers what communities need and value: places where nature and people thrive together.