Nearly Half of UK Garden Space Now Covered in Paving, Major Study Reveals
Almost 50% of the UK’s garden space has been paved over, according to a landmark study by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
The RHS has carried out the most comprehensive audit of UK gardens to date, uncovering what it describes as a vast yet largely overlooked resource for wildlife and climate resilience. Working with AI mapping firm Gentian, researchers analysed 25.8 million gardens—covering 959,800 hectares (2.37 million acres), or 4.6% of the UK’s land area. Collectively, gardens make up an area three times the size of all national nature reserves combined.
Large Areas of Garden Space Lost to Paving
The report shows that 42% of domestic garden space is now paved (including 55% of front gardens and 36% of back gardens). This reduces habitat for wildlife and increases flood risk by limiting places where rainwater can naturally drain.
Researchers also identified 18 million square metres of artificial grass across managed green spaces, with domestic gardens accounting for 7.5 million square metres of that total.
UK Gardens Are Critical Wildlife Havens
Despite increasing levels of hard landscaping, UK gardens still support huge amounts of biodiversity. According to the RHS, gardens host more than 50 million trees and thousands of species. They are home to roughly half of the UK’s butterfly, amphibian and reptile species, along with over 40% of bird and mammal species. They also store an estimated 158 million tonnes of carbon.
Unequal Access to Garden Space Across the UK
The study highlights stark regional inequalities in the availability of garden space. In London, 41% of land is classed as garden, compared with 19% in Leeds, 25% in Edinburgh and 27% in Cardiff.
Community gardens—which provide vital green areas for people without access to private plots—often operate on extremely limited budgets. More than a quarter run on under £500 a year, and fewer than 3% own the land they cultivate.
RHS Calls for Action to Protect Garden Green Space
The RHS is urging homeowners to avoid paving over gardens and instead opt for permeable surfaces and resilient planting to support biodiversity, reduce flooding and help cool urban areas.
The charity is also calling on government to enshrine “space to grow” in housing and planning policy, ensuring every household has access to a garden—or a similarly valuable green environment.
Clare Matterson, the director general of the RHS, said: “That there isn’t equality in access to growing space in the UK reinforces the need to shore up garden provision in the 1.5m new homes promised by government this parliament. It also demonstrates the need to ringfence space and increase support and funding for the community growing spaces that should be considered an infrastructural basic.”
Prof Alistair Griffiths, the director of science and collections at the RHS, said: “When people talk about the biodiversity crisis or nature loss they [generally] think about loss of wild plants or wildlife, they rarely think how cultivated plants and trees are also at risk and make a significant positive impact to our lives and our damaged planet. There are over 50m trees growing in UK gardens forming a vital infrastructure that cools cities, stores carbon and supports wildlife.
“We urgently need people of all ages to appreciate the UK’s gardens and garden plants not only for their beauty, but also how we can use them to help mend our fragile planet for future generations.”
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At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.
