Wildlife Manifesto: Gardens under threat

July 2007

The Royal Horticultural Society is the latest body to sign Natural England’s Gardening Manifesto. The Manifesto is in direct response to an alarming trend which is seeing the gardens (typically at the front of houses) being paved over with concrete in order to serve as a driveway for the car or to ease the maintenance required.

Research has shown that in the north-east of England 47% of front gardens were paved, 31% in south-west England, 30% in eastern England and 25% in the East Midlands and in north-west England. In London alone an area over twenty times the size of Hyde Park has been lost due to this paving trend.

Sir Martin Doughty, chairman of Natural England, said: "The gardens of England are under threat. In London, front gardens with a total area of 12 square miles are now paved over and lost, reducing havens for wildlife, increasing the impact of flash flooding and contributing to climate change."

Through this manifesto, Natural England is calling on businesses, the public sector and the public to play their part and give gardens a future, for the benefit of our own health and the survival of declining species that live on our doorsteps.