Nearly Half of UK Garden Space is Paved Over, Threatening Biodiversity and Flood Mitigation, RHS Study Reveals
London – A new report from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has revealed that almost half of UK garden space is covered in hard surfaces like paving, posing a significant threat too wildlife, increasing flood risk, and diminishing the potential for carbon storage. The study underscores a growing inequality in access to green space across the UK, with significant disparities between cities.
The RHS found that UK gardens support a wealth of biodiversity, providing habitats for amphibians, insects, birds, and mammals – including more than 40% of bird and mammal species. These gardens also store an estimated 158 million tonnes of carbon. However, the prevalence of paving is undermining these vital ecological functions.
The report highlighted stark regional differences in garden coverage.41% of London is categorized as garden space, compared to just 19% in Leeds, 25% in Edinburgh, and 27% in Cardiff. Moreover, over a quarter of community gardens – crucial green spaces for those without private gardens – operate on annual budgets of less than £500, and less than 3% of these groups own the land they cultivate.
The RHS is urging homeowners to prioritize planting and permeable paving over further paving, to help mitigate flood risk and enhance the cooling effect of gardens, alongside supporting biodiversity. The charity is also calling on the government to guarantee “space to grow” in all new housing and urban planning, ensuring every household has access to a garden.
“That ther isn’t equality in access to growing space in the UK reinforces the need to shore up garden provision in the 1.5m new homes promised by government this parliament,” said Clare Matterson, the director general of the RHS. “It also demonstrates the need to ringfence space and increase support and funding for the community growing spaces that should be considered an infrastructural basic.”
Prof Alistair Griffiths, the director of science and collections at the RHS, emphasized the frequently enough-overlooked role of cultivated plants. “When people talk about the biodiversity crisis or nature loss they [generally] think about loss of wild plants or wildlife, they rarely think how cultivated plants and trees are also at risk and make a significant positive impact to our lives and our damaged planet. There are over 50m trees growing in UK gardens forming a vital infrastructure that cools cities, stores carbon and supports wildlife.”
the RHS stresses the urgent need for greater appreciation of UK gardens and garden plants, not only for their aesthetic value but also for their potential to contribute to a more lasting future.
