Calls to make Derby a top 10 green city

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is calling on the city to back a campaign to make Derby one of the top 10 greenest cities in Britain.

Derby is currently placed 22nd in a league table of the UK’s greenest cities.

But now the trust is calling on people to get behind its push to bring more nature into the city centre.

It is also hoping that successful candidates in tomorrow’s local elections will commit to a wilder Derby and to bringing nature back to the heart of communities.

Ahead of the elections, the trust published a ‘Manifesto for a Wilder Derbyshire’, which asked candidates to commit to delivering on four actions for nature, should they be elected.

It included ensuring everyone in the county lived within 15 minutes of a high-quality green space, investment in natural flood management along the River Derwent and River Trent, supporting farmers to create more space for wildlife and improving greener and active travel options.

Scott Blance, advocacy manager at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are in the middle of a climate and nature emergency, and the two are linked.

“Climate change is driving nature’s decline, and the loss of wildlife and wild spaces leave us ill-equipped to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to change.

“The lack of wild spaces comes at a great cost to our physical and mental health, which puts more pressure on already stretched services such as the NHS.

“£2.1 billion per year could be saved in health costs if everyone in England had good access to greenspace, due to increased physical activity in those spaces.”