Everyone should have access to public parks and green spaces in their daily lives.
Through the National Lottery Heritage Fund Nature Towns and Cities initiative, grants have been awarded to 19 partnership projects – from Bradford to Belfast – to bring people closer to urban nature.
Nature Towns and Cities is a partnership initiative aiming to help local authorities and community partners put natural heritage at the heart of their plans through funding, accreditation and other resources.
Image: SWECO
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is also celebrating Birmingham as the UK’s first accredited Nature City and its commitment that nature being a right not a privilege, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole as the first Nature Town as they work with partners to bring nature to the heart of communities.
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “This exciting initiative, working with partners right across the UK, will give millions of people better access to nature close to home.”
The £15m in grants will support 40 towns and cities – through 19 partnership projects – to become greener and happier places for people to live and work.
Bradford has received £848,503 to develop green and blue infrastructure strategies and work with partners to connect communities with nature across the UK’s City of Culture 2025.
In Belfast, £850,514 has been awarded to co-design a plan for nature recovery across city and its surrounding areas, including the treasured Lagan Valley Regional Park and Belfast Hills.
Other projects include:
- Fife, Scotland: £800,000 to transform urban green spaces to increase their resilience to climate change, boost tourism, enrich local culture and improve the health and wellbeing of communities.
- Neath Port Talbot, Wales: £339,471 to one of our Heritage Places, to change how communities interact with nature in their lives and create green spaces that support wellbeing and help biodiversity thrive.
- Coventry, England: £989,685 to address green deprivation across the city by changing how it manages and monitors green and blue spaces, alongside a community outreach programme.
The projects will be supported by a network of experts from our partner organisations, providing free advice on topics such as green infrastructure planning, green finance and community engagement.
Eilish McGuinness said: “We have invested over £1billion in regenerating over 900 urban parks and green spaces over the last 30 years, helping nature thrive in towns everywhere. This exciting initiative, working with partners right across the UK, will build on this investment and give millions of people better access to nature close to home.”
Nature Towns and Cities is a 10-year partnership between us, the National Trust and Natural England, working closely with NatureScot, Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
