Who Loves Nature the Most in England? (*sp)

The cost of healthcare has risen greatly in recent years, and this is due in large part to lifestyle choices combined with an ageing population. As budgets are squeezed further, it is imperative for preventative health measures to come to the fore and play a large part in helping people to stay healthy in the current context of a very reactive healthcare system.

Healthy Access is a project that has been pioneered by Toothpick.com with the aim of providing a platform that can be used to find areas that have the best health services or the best access to lifestyle factors that promote health. The scores come from multiple sources of open data from at the local authority level, and the system is designed to be interactive so that users can comment on the services in their area.

Access and use of green space is important for a healthy lifestyle as it provides clean air, a place to exercise, and a calming atmosphere that contributes to well-being. The Healthy Access Project provides a green space score that comes from the data provided by Nature England, who measure how people are using the environments they have access to.

This data looks at how many parks and other green spaces are available but also how well maintained and accessible these are. A good green space score is found where people visit natural environments frequently, measured in weekly visits.

According to the Healthy Access study, the top three places for green space use in the UK are Craven, Hart, and Newark and Sherwood all with a perfect score of 10.

Craven is classed as a non-metropolitan district and this gives a clue as to why if fares well on the green space score. Located within a set of valleys, it borders the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the North, the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the East and the Forest of Bowland to the West. With such great access to scenic areas it is no surprise the residents of Craven are frequent green space users.

Similarly, Hart is also located very close to some of these same areas. It additionally has good access to the North York Moors National Park and the North Pennines. It is a small village and this makes getting out to these areas much easier than it might be for city dwellers.

Newark and Sherwood is a district located in Nottinghamshire and is predominantly rural. It has a number of nearby forest plantations including the famous Sherwood Forest. The Newark and Sherwood district also has a strong economy that had been recognised as a growth point meaning people have the resources to get out into the countryside in their leisure time.

The Healthy Access study shows that people most frequently visit green space when they have good quality large areas of green space nearby. If you would like to check out how your town fares on the green space score you can find out at www.toothpick.com/healthy-access/score/greenspace-score.