We live in a country where there are incredible landscapes if you know where to go and have the means of getting there, yet access to clean, safe, biodiverse nature is deeply unequal. Some communities are blessed with leafy parks, riverside paths, and wildflower meadows within minutes. Others face streets of tarmac and brick, devoid of any nature, with the nearest green space a bus ride away, if they can afford the fare.

The UK Government has set an ambition that everyone should live within a 15‑minute walk of a nature space. It’s a good ambition. But right now, it’s far from reality. 

And the cost of this inequality is measured in poorer health, shorter lives, and diminished well-being.

What needs to change

We need the UK Government to act. First, by publishing the long‑promised Green Paper on access to nature, so we can have a national conversation about what fair access really looks like. But we must go further.

It’s time to consider legislation for a right to a natural, healthy environment: a right that would guarantee everyone, wherever they live, the ability to step outside and find clean air, safe paths, and thriving wildlife close to home.

The benefits would be profound:

• Healthier communities with reduced demand on health services.
• Cohesive communities and stronger local economies as healthy green and blue spaces combat loneliness as well as attract visitors and investment.
• Greater climate resilience through urban trees, wetlands, and wild spaces that cool cities, absorb carbon, and reduce flooding.

This isn’t just environmental policy. It’s social justice, public health, and economic common sense rolled into one. 

A right to a healthy environment could be supported by further policies, including a National Community Health & Wellbeing Fund to support green social prescribing, new duties on authorities to provide accessible green spaces and new powers for communities to buy and look after these spaces. 
 

Your voice matters

Change happens when people speak up. If nature is vital to your life; if it’s where you find calm, happiness or a place to exercise, then  tell your story. Write to your MP or local councillor. Share how access to nature has shaped your health and wellbeing, and why it’s not a “nice to have” but a necessity.

Support the call for the Green Paper, and new policies to improve access, so you can have your say on the future of access to nature. Together, we can make sure that the right to a natural, healthy environment is not just an ambition, but a reality for everyone.

Want to know more?

We've created a briefing with more detail about the policies we want to support better access to nature. 

Read the Access to Nature briefing

How can a Natural Health Service help the National Health Service?

Catch up on our recent live online event! Our expert panel explored the solutions that connect nature, people and communities - solutions that are so urgently needed.