City MP Stephen Morgan has welcomed plans for Portsmouth to become an official Nature City, with fresh funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to bring nature into urban areas.
Mr Morgan said the funding will help bring benefits of everyday access to nature to people living in Portsmouth.
As Portsmouth approaches its centenary in 2026, this project backed by a £895,818 will explore enhanced public access to Fort Cumberland, while nature-based health interventions will create a city where nature becomes an integral part of public health and wellbeing for all.
This is driven by a commitment to making nature accessible to everyone, in a city with historically limited and fragmented green spaces. The project will produce improvement plans for public spaces, working directly with communities.
By developing clear financial frameworks and exploring funding mechanisms like Biodiversity Net Gain, Portsmouth will create a sustainable model for urban nature recovery that will extend far beyond the project’s three-year timeline.
Portsmouth is one of 40 boroughs, towns and cities receiving a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of a new mission.
Nature Towns and Cities is a coalition of organisations united by the ambition to enable millions more people to experience nature in their daily lives, particularly those places and communities currently lacking access to quality green space.
In Portsmouth, as it approaches its centenary in 2026, a project will join the city’s historically limited and fragmented green spaces, making nature accessible to everyone, with a particular focus on nature’s role in health and wellbeing, and in how natural spaces and features can support the city to become climate resilient.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Experiencing nature is vital to our physical and mental wellbeing, helping us connect with the world around us and often bringing calm to our busy lives.
“That’s why as a city with large urban areas, I have long said that more needs to be done to improve access to nature for local families, particularly young people.
“I am therefore delighted to welcome this fresh funding which will enable more local people to experience nature in their daily lives and all the benefits that brings.”
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“I am delighted to announce an investment of £15 million which will help 40 towns and cities across the UK better plan their urban nature recovery, connecting people and communities to their natural environment in the places they live.
“We have invested over £1bn in regenerating over 900 urban parks and green spaces over the last 30 years, helping nature thrive in towns everywhere – and this exciting initiative, working with partners right across the UK, will continue to build on this investment and give millions of people better access to nature close to home.”
Earlier this year Mr Morgan was named as the UK’s 1,000th Climate Ambassador following years of work to protect Portsmouth’s precious environment.
The city MP recently welcomed Environment Secretary Steve Reed to Portsmouth to discuss government plans to tackle sewage pollution and bring green jobs to the city.
