Natural England - Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure (GI) is a network of high quality green and blue spaces and other environmental features. It needs to be planned and delivered at all spatial scales from national to neighbourhood levels. The greatest benefits will be gained when it is designed and managed as a multifunctional resource capable of delivering a wide range of environmental and quality of life benefits (ecosystem services) for local communities.

allotments

Green Infrastructure includes parks, open spaces, playing fields, woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, river and canal corridors allotments and private gardens.

Why is Green Infrastructure important?

Green Infrastructure can provide many social, economic and environmental benefits close to where people live and work including:

  • Space and habitat for wildlife with access to nature for people
  • Places for outdoor relaxation and play
  • Climate change adaptation - for example flood alleviation and cooling urban heat islands
  • Environmental education
  • Local food production - in allotments, gardens and through agriculture
  • Improved health and well-being – lowering stress levels and providing opportunities for exercise

MEBIE - the Micro-Economic Benefits of Investment in the Environment Reviewexternal link provides an evidence summary of the benefits of Green Infrastructure. It is focussed around green infrastructure interventions and is structured using the Ecosystem Approach.

Green Infrastructure and economic growth

Literature and case studies across the world show that investment in green infrastructure can act as a catalyst to local economic growth of an area through:

  • Increased investment in the built environment in the surrounding area
  • Attracting businesses and residents to the area through increasing its attractiveness
  • New developments contributing to increased local taxation revenue
  • Increased number of visitors coming to and spending in the area
  • Business expansion or start-up on the back of increased visitor spending
  • Improving the physical and mental health of the population leading to increased productivity and reduced medical expenditure
  • Providing an appreciable contribution, at lower cost than would be possible through grey infrastructure, to environmental management, such as alleviation of urban heat island effects, carbon sequestration, improved air quality and reduction of flood risks
  • Increase in disposable household income or business surpluses due to cost savings or lower taxation as a result of environmental and health gains
  • Growth in direct and indirect employment from provision, maintenance and associated services
  • Local multiplier effects of increased income and spending

Defra and Natural England have commissioned a report together this evidence in once place. This report is due to be published later this summer (2013) and a link will be added here as soon as it is available.

Why is Natural England involved and how?

Natural England is supporting the concept of Green Infrastructure as a way to deliver a wide range of benefits for people, the economy and the natural environment together. We believe Green Infrastructure can be delivered via the spatial planning system, as an integral part of new development everywhere and alongside other infrastructure such as utilities and transport networks. It can also form a key part of proposals to regenerate existing urban areas.

Natural England’s Green Infrastructure reports and information

For your information, you can still view to our previous Green Infrastructure Guidanceexternal link. Please note that this refers to planning policies that have been surpassed by the National Planning Policy Framework.

For further information on Green Infrastructure please contact Tom Butterworth at Tom.Butterworth@NaturalEngland.org.uk