Developers have cut the scale of green space in residential developments, causing the average size of the nearest park to fall by 30% in a decade.
The closest park in neighbourhoods dominated by housing built since 2009 is 36,200 sq m, or about five football pitches, compared with 51,400 sq m in areas of 1990s housing and 61,500 sq m for 1930s housing – a fall of 41% – analysis of ONS data by the New Economics Foundation think-tank found.
The research also found that the people in modern developments were feeling more cut off from nature. It added that this dislocation was having a negative impact on mental health.
