Parks, Gardens and Greenspaces

Managed greenspaces includes parks, amenity grasslands, roadside verges, churchyards, private gardens and allotments. Such habitats cover large parts of the Region’s lowlands and are a significant habitat for many species of birds, mammals, insects and plants. These include species which were once common in the wider countryside but which have suffered a dramatic decline in rural areas, for example song thrush or water vole (both of which are priorities in the UK BAP).

Some urban greenspaces, such as intensively managed amenity grasslands, are of low value for nature conservation because of their limited variety in plant species and structure. However, with appropriate management (such as less intensive grasscutting regimes and the use of native tree and shrub species in planting schemes) the biodiversity value of these could be considerably enhanced. Greenspaces also have an important role to play in environmental education and in the public’s enjoyment of the natural world.