Out of the 162,461 households in Barnet, only 10% have “substantial” access to blue space reports Adam Care, Data Reporter

A couple sitting on the river bank watching a man punting down the river — Across England, 28% of households have access to substantial blue spaces – (Credit – Radar)

One in 10 households in Barnet can get to open water within a short walk, new figures show.

The Canal and Rivers Trust said regular access to water can improve “physical and mental health and wellbeing” and called for England’s waterways to be better protected.

New data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs shows how many neighbourhoods in England have easy access to open water.

It shows out of the 162,461 households in Barnet, only 10% have “substantial” access to blue space – meaning people can walk to a publicly accessible river, sea, lake or canal within 15 minutes.

To qualify for this, the ‘blue space’ must be at least half a hectare in area or can be walked alongside for a minimum distance of 250 metres.

A separate, less stringent definition shows 92% of households in Barnet have access to any sort of blue space, outside of these criteria.

A spokesperson for the Canal and Rivers Trust, which looks after 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales, said canals can be a key way to gain access to nature, especially for those living in built-up areas.

They said: “The UK is in 14th place in the European League table across all three metrics of greatest biodiversity loss, lowest nature connectedness and highest wellbeing inequalities.

“Our canals can help address all these challenges, providing free, open access to nature and waterside locations near the homes of over nine million people across England and Wales.”

They added: “We saw this during Covid, when numbers of people using our towpaths in residential urban areas grew – not everyone can sit in a garden or drive to the coast.”

Across England, only 28% of households had access to substantial blue spaces.

These figures were higher for those in urban areas (30%), than in rural ones (21%).

However, this trend was reversed when considering the broader definition of blue space, at 94% for rural areas and 85% for urban.

The Rivers Trust, which represents conservationists caring for UK rivers, said the health of rivers must be improved “to ensure that access to healthy blue spaces is equitable for all”.

A spokesperson also called on the government to provide funding for landowners to provide better access to rivers, to “improve river health and bolster the wellbeing benefits that these spaces can provide recreational users.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “Our rivers, lakes and seas across the country are a great source of pride.

“That’s why we are taking urgent action to clean them up for good and will create nine new National River Walks, so more people can experience the benefits of our beautiful waters.”

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