Scotland’s biggest cities in top three greenest in UK
● Edinburgh has most green space, Glasgow is second
Edinburgh and Glasgow are in the top three most eco- friendly cities in the UK, according to a new survey.
The findings show the Scottish capital leads the field when it comes to green space, which covers nearly half of its entire area.
Glasgow is not far behind, with almost athird of land devoted to parks and gardens.
Edinburghcan also boa st one of the highest recycling rates across Britain at 42 per cent, coming a close second only to Bristol at 44 per cent. But Glasgow loses points on dealing with waste, sitting just above Birmingham at the bottom of the league.
The results come from a study for property buying firm Good Move that compares and rates the ten biggest cities in the UK, based on green space, recycling rates, carbon emissions, energy consumption and the number of seats held by the Green Party.
Thecities featured in the study are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham, London, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, Bradford and Liverpool.
Bristol came out as the overall winner, with Edinburgh in second place and Glasgow in third. Greater London completed the top four.
Edinburgh claimed the largest amount ofgreen space, with 49 per cent, compared to 32 percent in Glasgow. Glasgow isa front-runner with regard to energy usage, and has the lowest domestic gas consumption after London.
London scored best for its impacton climate change, with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. Edinburgh came third-equal withL iver pool, but Glasgow is near the bottom of the table with only Leeds and Birmingham reporting higher levels.
Property experts said good quality of life and a progressive environmental ethos are helping to make Scottish cities some of the UK’S best.
Ross Counsell, director of Good Move, said: “As is abundantly clear from our research and others’ ,Scotland is well establishing itself on the world stage as a highly desirable place to live.
“With average house pric - es almost £100,000 cheaper than in England, and with world-class universities in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the country offers great life opportunities for the environmentally conscious future generations.”
According to the latest fig - ures from the Hometrack UK, the average cost of a home in Edinburgh stands at £ 206,200, while in Glasgow it is £ 115,800.