Below are some key facts and figures from GiGL data holdings. Please credit them to “Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC, 2024”.
How green is London?
Roughly 47% of Greater London is ‘green’; 33% of London is natural habitats within open space according to surveyed habitat information (1) and an additional 14% is estimated to be vegetated private, domestic garden land (2).
How much of London is water?
Over 2.55% of Greater London’s area is blue space (3), such as rivers, canals and reservoirs.
How much of London is garden land?
It has been calculated that 23% of Greater London is private, domestic garden land (4). 14% of this is estimated to be vegetated garden green space (2).
How much of London is open?
More than 60% of Greater London is open (i.e. undeveloped) land. 42.5% of this is land that has an amenity value or potential amenity value (5). The rest of the open land is domestic gardens.
What is London’s open space used for?
London’s open spaces are multifunctional, both in terms of their ecosystem services and their amenity value for London’s residents. 42.5% of Greater London can be classified as open space (5). This can be divided into the land use categories displayed in figure 3. Get in touch to access data on more detailed land uses.
| Land Use | Area (ha) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Parks And Gardens | 9627 | 6.04% |
| Natural And Semi-natural Urban Greenspace | 9484 | 5.95% |
| Green Corridors | 5814 | 3.65% |
| Outdoor Sports Facilities | 10846 | 6.80% |
| Amenity | 6204 | 3.89% |
| Children And Teenagers | 85 | 0.05% |
| Allotments, Community Gardens And City Farms | 1049 | 0.66% |
| Cemeteries And Churchyards | 1414 | 0.89% |
| Other Urban Fringe | 12884 | 8.08% |
| Civic Spaces | 101 | 0.06% |
| Other | 3036 | 1.90% |
| Unknown | 7257 | 4.55% |
| Total: | 67801 | 42.52% |
How much of London is designated as Public Open Space?
The London Boroughs can choose to designate specific sites as Public Open Space. These sites account for 18.13% of Greater London (6). It is divided into a hierarchy according to The London Plan (Table 7.2) (7).
| Public Open Space | Area (ha) | Percentage of Greater London |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Parks* | 6682 | 4.19% |
| Metropolitan Parks | 8460 | 5.31% |
| District Parks | 4465 | 2.80% |
| Local Parks and Open Spaces | 5575 | 3.50% |
| Small Open Spaces | 884 | 0.55% |
| Pocket Parks | 174 | 0.11% |
| Linear Open Spaces | 2679 | 1.68% |
| Total: | 28917 | 18.13% |
*does not currently include Wandle Valley and Colne Valley Regional Parks
How much of London is designated for its value for nature conservation?
Areas of land which are important for their wildlife are designated as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs)(8). There are 1,664 SINCs in Greater London, covering 19.74% of the city’s area (9). There are three tiers, of which the middle is usually divided into two Grades.
| Grade | Area (ha) | Percentage of Greater London |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan | 16,431.90 | 10.30% |
| Borough Grade 1 | 7,914.46 | 4.96% |
| Borough Grade 2 | 5,066.85 | 3.18% |
| Borough (no grade distinction) | 237.08 | 0.15% |
| Local | 1,819.77 | 1.14% |
| Total: | 31470.06 | 19.74% |
How many wildlife sites in London have statutory protection?
Greater London has a range of areas afforded statutory protection for their wildlife value:
• Two Special Protection Areas (SPAs): Lee Valley and South West London Waterbodies (10)
• Three Special Areas of Conservation (SACs): Epping Forest, Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common (10)
• Two RAMSAR sites: Lee Valley and South West London Waterbodies (10)
• Three National Nature Reserves: Ruislip Woods, Richmond Park (10) and South London Downs (11)
• 37 Sites of Special Interest (SSSIs). Seven of these are designated for their geology (12)
• 154 Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) (12)
How much of London is Green Belt?
22% of Greater London (34,820 hectares) is designated as Green Belt (13). More statistics regarding the city’s Green Belt are available here.
How much of London is Metropolitan Open Land?
Almost 10% of Greater London (15,706 hectares) is designated as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL)(14). More statistics regarding the city’s MOL are available here.
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1 Figure calculated from GiGL habitat dataset London Survey Methodology data (surveys 1984-2009). The surveys only included spaces above 0.25ha so smaller vegetated areas may not have been considered within this figure.
2 Smith, C., Dawson, D., Archer, J., Davies, M., Frith, M., Hughes, E. and Massini, P., 2011. From green to grey; observed changes in garden vegetation structure in London, 1998-2009; London Wildlife Trust, Greenspace Information for Greater London and Greater London Authority. Figure calculated through analysis of colour aerial photographs (Cities Revealed aerial photography ©The GeoInformation Group 2008)
3 Figure calculated from GiGL Habitats dataset (calculated May 2024)
4 Smith, C., Dawson, D., Archer, J., Davies, M., Frith, M., Hughes, E. and Massini, P., 2011. From green to grey; observed changes in garden vegetation structure in London, 1998-2008; London Wildlife Trust, Greenspace Information for Greater London, and Greater London Authority. Figure calculated using land identified as “private residential gardens” in Ordnance Survey MasterMap® Topography Layer data (updated June 2006)
5 Figure from GiGL open space dataset (mixed survey dates –calculated May 2024). Open space is defined as “undeveloped land which has an amenity value or has potential for an amenity value. The value could be visual, derive from a site’s historical or cultural interest or from the enjoyment of facilities which it provides. It includes both public and private spaces but excludes private gardens.” The data is mixed source; principally from surveys. More information can be found here
6 Figure from GiGL open space dataset (mixed survey dates –calculated May 2024). Public Open Space designations sources from published borough documents such as Local Development Frameworks or Open Space Strategies, or from provided borough data. More information can be found here
7 The London Plan is the strategic plan for Greater London. Published by the Mayor of London, it sets out an economic, environmental, transport and social framework for development
8 SINCs are known elsewhere in the country as Local Wildlife Sites. They are identified locally using an agreed set of criteria. More information can be found here.
9 Figures taken from GiGL SINC dataset (calculated May 2024). GiGL is the official custodian of information on London’s SINCs. This includes both their citations and boundary information
10 Data available from data.gov.uk © Natural England.
11 Natural England announcement of new national Nature Reserve https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2019/07/30/london-has-a-new-national-nature-reserve-the-south-london-downs-nnr/
12 Figures and SSSI reason for notification from Natural England: https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk
13 Figure from GiGL Green Belt dataset (data collated from the local authorities, figures calculated May 2024)
14 Figure from GiGL Metropolitan Open Land dataset (data collated from the local authorities, figures calculated May 2024)