Nature’s help in levelling up

Green plan for region’s recovery

GIVEN that this region prides itself on its natural assets, not least the beauty of its three national parks, it is deeply troubling that a new report has warned that for too long, leaders have failed to value nature in the North, undermining its potential on both a human and an economic level.

Its benefits have perhaps never been realised more so in recent history than in the past 12 weeks, when time outdoors has not only been one of the few permitted reasons for leaving the home during lockdown but for many has also provided an opportunity to connect with the natural world and support mental wellbeing in one of the most challenging periods that this country has ever faced.

In a new report, thinktank IPPR North has set out how a plan for nature developed by local leaders and supported with a £50bn investment from Government could boost future prosperity, helping to build a “cleaner, greener future North, with the potential to create jobs, improve resilience and level up the economy and public health”. The report follows analysis from the Northern Health Science Alliance last month, which suggested that deprived areas in the North were being hit hardest by the impact of coronavirus, stifling economic growth, and a separate promise by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick that the levelling up agenda would return “with gusto” after the pandemic subsides.

Given both of these points, the Government and local leaders would do well to heed the think-tank’s advice and work together to put nature at the heart of the North’s recovery postCovid-19 and ensure people from all backgrounds have opportunities to access it regularly.

After all, as IPPR researchers point out, the benefits could be widereaching; to public health and wellbeing, to the recreational and tourism economy, and to the natural world in the face of a climate emergency.