Parks are essential health assets with significant financial benefits
Parks are a crucial part of the urban infrastructure for health provision and provide the context for residents to make healthier decisions by default. The vast majority (95%) of the UK health budget is used for medical treatment and it’s thought that 40% could be avoided if more causes were tackled. Frequent use of parks is worth over £30 billion/year to the UK population. That value translates into estimated savings for the NHS of at least £100 million/year from fewer GP visits. Investment in parks and greenspace are therefore a cost-effective way to promote health and wellbeing.
Green spaces provide good value
Investing in a well-maintained park for health service is good value. The cost per visit to a park in Camden is £1.73, and results in £20 of health benefits. The Greater London Authority, National Trust and Heritage Lottery Fund commissioned Natural Capital Account for London in 2017 and found that public green spaces saved £370m per year through better mental wellbeing – £42 per person per year. Using the latest health research and economic valuation methods, the current estimated health value to the local community of Islington and Camden is £94m.
Camden Council manages 51 hectares of park greenspaces.
There are estimated 2.6 million recreational visits to 70 greenspaces each year.
Islington Council manages 89 hectares of parks greenspaces.
There are an estimated 2.2 million recreational visits to 93 greenspaces.
Vivid Economics produced a Natural Capital Account for Camden and Islington in 2020, and the project team commissioned some additional scenario modelling. This modelling showed a range of improvements can increase footfall and health benefits. See the diagrams below:
A diagram illustrating the social return of investing in nature.
Sport and physical activity generate £3.91 in value for every £1 spent.
Research to calculate the social impact and economic importance of sport and physical activity in England found that investing in community sport and physical activity plays an important role in boosting the economy and provides the opportunity to help level up inequalities within communities
We now know the significant value of our parks as health assets. So, what next?
The Parks for Health project set out to understand the value of our parks as health assets, and how to maximise the use of our parks – particularly for those with the poorest health outcomes in our boroughs.
Next we turn to how we might target investment where it is needed most.
We commissioned Tisdall Associates to create a Health Parks Strategy for Camden and Islington boroughs, which:
Identifies the current health status of each park
Identifies low cost, high impact interventions and capital work to address shortfalls
Develops park-based health promotion initiatives
Keep an eye out for more on this work in a future blog.
Blog by Tamsin Fisher, Senior Project Officer, June 2021
