Here are England’s best value areas for access to green spaces – and where buyers pay more for less

Access to green space has become highly sought-after for buyers across the country. Whether it’s a nearby park for weekend walks, open space for children to play, or a private garden to unwind in, living close to nature is proven to boost mental and physical health and help residents feel more connected to their communities.

Recent research suggests that living near a green space can reduce the risk of depression by around 20%, and that even small interactions with nature, like seeing trees or hearing birdsong, can improve mental wellbeing for several hours.

To highlight England’s top locations for green space and help buyers understand how much they could get for their money, we analysed property data for 100 towns and cities across the country, including average house and rental prices, how much green space is available per person, how much that green space is projected to decline, and how many residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.

Key takeaways:

Top 20 areas for green space and affordability

The areas below rank highest overall based on how much outdoor space there is, how easy it is to reach from where people live, and how affordable it is to buy or rent a home.

The top 20 areas in England for access to outdoor space

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At the top of the list, Milton Keynes has one of the highest levels of parkland per person in the country – perhaps unsurprisingly given its origins as a planned town with green corridors deliberately built into its layout.

Other top-ranking areas combine strong access to green space with more affordable house prices. Lincoln and Gateshead are good examples of this, with a manageable cost of living and a large proportion of residents who live within a short walk of a park. Areas such as Cannock, Stoke-on-Trent, and Newcastle-under-Lyme, similarly, have a lot of accessible green space relative to their smaller populations.

Some of the most affordable towns in the country, like Stockton-on-Tees, Rotherham, and Hartlepool, also appear in our top 20, suggesting that buyers can find homes at a lower price point without sacrificing access to outdoor space.

To understand what these rankings really mean for buyers, we’ve broken the results down into four groups:

Hidden green gems: Where buyers get the best access to green space for their money

For many buyers, the challenge is finding somewhere affordable without giving up access to green space. While that balance can be difficult to achieve, a number of locations do offer both – and they’re largely located in the North.

The top 5 areas for green space affordability

Burnley stands out as one of the most affordable options. While it does not have as much green space per person as some other areas, most residents still live close to a park. With average house prices of just £131,000, it is an appealing option for buyers looking for green space on a budget.

Stoke-on-Trent and Gateshead follow a similar pattern, combining low house prices with a lot of green space. Stoke-on-Trent has one of the highest amounts of green space per person in the country (54.60m²), while in Gateshead, fewer residents live far from a park, making green space relatively easy to access day to day.

Lincoln offers a slightly different balance. House prices are higher than in some of the other areas in this group (£187,000), but most residents live close to a park. Chesterfield, similarly, has one of the lowest numbers of residents living far from a park, alongside a solid amount of green space per person (34.46m²) – even if average house prices are slightly higher (£200,000).

This data shows that buyers do not always need to pay more to live near green space. Cheaper locations are just as likely to have parks close to where people live – and in many cases, access is even better than in more expensive areas.

Premium green areas: where higher house prices come with more green space

While many of England’s greenest areas are among the most affordable, several more expensive towns and cities also have great green credentials – so they might be worth considering if you have a bigger budget.

Green areas where buyers pay more

Milton Keynes is the clearest example. It ranks highest in our top 20, with lots of parkland and 64.63m² of green space per person – although house prices are high, and residents are less likely to live close to a park. This shows that even in well-performing areas, access is not evenly spread.

Harrogate, similarly, has a lot of green space, but house prices are higher in comparison to most areas in the top 20. It is also one of the few locations where green space provision is expected to improve slightly over time, making it a future-proofed place to move, albeit for a higher price tag.

In Hastings, green space per person is relatively high at 49.15m², although more residents live further from a park than in many other areas. While house prices and rent are relatively high, buyers will be rewarded with a lot of green space – even if they have to travel to access it.

This data shows that higher house prices can reflect greater access to green space, even if that access is not always evenly distributed. Buyers in these areas may benefit from more green space overall, but could be paying a premium for space that isn’t close to home.

According to UK government research, people living more than 15 minutes from green space are 60% less likely to visit regularly – so buyers moving to expensive areas with a lot of green space should be mindful of how close that space is to their new property.

Concrete jungles: where higher house prices don’t mean more green space

In some areas, paying more doesn’t mean getting better access to green space. In fact, the opposite can be true – with higher house prices, less green space, and parks that are far away from where people live. If being close to green space matters to you, these are the places to avoid.

Expensive areas with less green space

Battersea is the most expensive area on our list with an average house price of £682,000 – reflecting London’s famously high cost of living – yet residents only have access to 12.95m² of green space per person, one of the lowest figures in the country.

A similar imbalance appears in towns within commuting distance of London. While house prices in Reading, Slough and Watford are relatively high, green space per person is low.

A number of coastal areas follow the same pattern. In Brighton and Hove, Southend-on-Sea, and Worthing, buyers are paying high prices to live near the sea, but that doesn’t translate to better green space inland. Worthing has the lowest amount of green space per person in our list (11.39m²), and Brighton and Hove has the third lowest (13.99m²).

Across these areas, buyers are paying a premium to live close to the coast or the capital – and often sacrificing access to green space as a result.

Places at risk of decline: where green space is expected to come under the most pressure

In some areas, access to green space is expected to decline over the next two decades as populations grow and available land becomes more limited.

England’s declining green areas

Coventry and Wakefield are expected to see the steepest drops. In both towns, the amount of green space available per person is set to fall significantly, which could make parks harder to access and more crowded over time.

Rightmove's annual Happy at Home Index found proximity to green space to be among the most significant sources of happiness for people when it comes to where they live – so the prospect of that space declining could be cause for concern.

What stands out in our data is that it is not only the lower-ranking locations that are seeing their green spaces decline. Many areas that look like strong options now might not offer the same level of access in the future.

Risky future locations – where access to green space looks good now but could decline

Cannock is a clear example. It currently offers 87.10m² green space per person, one of the highest figures in the country, but this space is projected to decline by -9.34% in the next two decades.

Similarly, Rotherham, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Derby rank well due to affordability and current access to green space, but their projected decline suggests that access may become more limited in the future.

The UK already ranks as the fifth-worst country in Europe for green space lost to development, adding to concerns about how access in England could change in the years ahead. To understand whether local green space is likely to stay as it is or be built on over time, buyers should look closely at planning permissions, local development plans, and any restrictions on surrounding land – all of which are typically reviewed during the conveyancing process.

A clear North–South divide in access to green space

Many of the areas that offer better access to green space alongside lower house prices are located in the North, while a number of southern towns and cities combine higher costs with more limited provision.

The map below highlights how this divide plays out across the country.

England’s top and bottom 10 green areas

What this means for buyers — and why the legal process matters

Alistair Singer, Director at My Home Move Conveyancing, commented on the research:

“What stands out in this study is how differently green space plays out depending on where you choose to live. For buyers, the key is to work out how your next home will interact with the green space in the area – how close it is, how easy it is to get to, and whether it’s somewhere you’ll realistically use on a regular basis.

“Many of the cities that rank highly offer a great balance between affordability and quality of life. In places like Lincoln, Gateshead, and Stoke-on-Trent, buyers can still access green space without stretching their budget. At the same time, Milton Keynes coming out on top is great news for buyers with a little more to spend.

“From a conveyancing perspective, we are noticing an increasing interest in these greener areas. Buyers are thinking more carefully about the environments they want to live in – whether that’s access to parks or simply a less built-up area.

“It’s also worth considering how secure that access is. Just because a piece of land is open today doesn’t necessarily mean it will stay that way. As part of the conveyancing process, we look into planning history, proposed developments, and any restrictions on nearby land to help build a clearer picture of how an area might change over time.

“Doing that due diligence will give you the confidence to move forward knowing exactly what you’re buying into.”

Methodology

To determine which areas in England are the best for access to outdoor space, we looked at several key indicators to create an index score:

These factors were given a weighted score out of 100, which gives us our final index result.

All data is correct as of March 2026.