People who live near parks should pay additional taxes, says think tank

The suggestion is based on a model in some US states that sees homeowners within 100 metres of the park pay extra costs

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People who live near parks should be made to pay additional taxes to help maintain the green space, a think tank report has found.

In the report, published on 18 May, the non-partisan Social Market Foundation (SMF), said that the government policy of austerity had meant park provisions “suffered” and forced many to be kept afloat by a combination of volunteer labour and lottery funding.

It suggests that – mirroring a policy in some US cities – homeowners with properties near parks should pay a small monthly tax to fund local authority park budgets.

It cites the example of Seattle’s King County where residents who own a home worth $500,000 (£410,000) within 100 metres pay a rate of $7.20 (£5.90) for their local park.

“One option is to tax for living near a park — properties within 100 metres of a park are on average £2,500 more expensive than those 500 metres away,” Linus Pardoe, the author of the report, said.

A recent study from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found that one in eight British households has no access to a private or communal garden and instead relies solely on public spaces such as parks for access to nature.

Other SMF policy recommendations include transferring control of the parks to non-profit groups instead of local authorities.

It says: “Communities often plug the gap when local authorities cannot fully maintain parks. In light of a pilot in Newcastle, policymakers should explore whether charitable foundations and communities are better placed to provide urban green spaces.”

It also wants the involvement of the NHS in park management – in order to better use green spaces as a healthcare resource.

The benefits of nature for both mental and physical wellbeing have been well-documented. “Green prescribing could save NHS resources and see NHS England play a contributory role in urban green space provision,” it says.

A scheme trialled in Manchester in 2019 saw doctors prescribing plants instead of pills to treat people suffering from anxiety, depression and loneliness.

Instead of anti-depressants, patients were given prescriptions of time spent in nature and looking after plants in a scheme believed to be the first of its kind.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recently published a study which found people with a garden, balcony or courtyard are almost twice as likely to feel satisfied with life during lockdown compared with those with no outdoor space.

Among those people who have their own outdoor space, 71 per cent say it has helped their mental health during this period at home.

Parks have recently become busier as Boris Johnson eases lockdown restriction - allowing people to now take unlimited amounts of daily exercise and meet one other person from outside their household as long as social distancing is practiced.