In an era of rapid urbanisation and climate change, how we allocate our limited land resources has never been more critical. The concept of land budgets offers a systematic approach to ensure land is used efficiently and equitably, balancing development needs with environmental preservation. This challenge has gained renewed urgency as planners and policymakers increasingly recognise the need for strategic approaches to green infrastructure investment.
Recent national policy shifts, including the Urban FWAC Network’s Vision for a Resilient Urban Forest published in July 2025, underscore growing recognition of trees, woodlands and green spaces as essential urban infrastructure. Multiple mechanisms are now emerging to embed green infrastructure in local planning from the outset.
The integration of Green Infrastructure Standards, the Urban Greening Factor Standard and emerging frameworks represents part of a wider drive to systematically incorporate nature into local planning processes across England.
Understanding Land Budgets
Land budgets provide a framework for balancing competing demands such as housing, commercial development, infrastructure, environmental preservation and green space through quantified land allocations for each use. While Local Plans remain the statutory mechanism for land designation, land budgets increasingly appear in supporting planning documents as a mechanism for implementation. Both approaches serve the same fundamental purpose: managing scarce land resources to meet diverse community needs while adhering to national planning guidance.
Local Plans establish the legal foundation for land use decisions, designating areas for housing, industry, commerce, green space and infrastructure. Land budgets bring structure to this process by quantifying how much land is allocated to each use, helping planners visualise trade-offs and ensure no single priority dominates. By embedding green infrastructure within these allocations from the outset, land budgets support the creation of more balanced, resilient and liveable communities.
The Challenge of Valuing Green Infrastructure
Green infrastructure has historically been disadvantaged in land allocation decisions. Landscape resources have been undervalued and marginalised in favour of the built environment because it is difficult to attribute economic value to green spaces. This has led to green investments being treated as afterthoughts rather than essential components of sustainable urban environments.
However, research demonstrates strong public support for green infrastructure investment. A 2013 Manchester study revealed that people are willing to pay more for greener environments, with 75% of respondents indicating willingness to pay for green infrastructure investments via council tax. This reflects the multiple benefits green infrastructure provides: ecological services, improved wellbeing, climate regulation and enhanced property values. These benefits could translate to significant economic returns, with estimates suggesting green infrastructure can add billions to the national economy annually.
The Catalyst for Urban Greening
Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework has emerged as a key tool in transforming how local authorities approach urban greening. Since its launch two years ago, the framework has gained momentum, with local authorities across England integrating its principles and standards into their Local Plans. This represents a fundamental shift from treating green infrastructure as an optional addition to recognising it as essential urban infrastructure.
The Urban Greening Factor Standard provides a mechanism for ensuring consistent green infrastructure provision by establishing minimum requirements for green coverage relative to development footprint. This approach ensures that green infrastructure considerations are embedded from the earliest planning stages rather than being retrofitted as afterthoughts.
The embedding of Green Infrastructure policies in Local Plans has accelerated dramatically. Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole, Exeter and Portsmouth have all integrated comprehensive GI policies incorporating the Urban Greening Factor Standard and Urban Tree Canopy Cover Standards. These forward-thinking authorities are setting an example by moving beyond aspirations to implement measurable standards that ensure green infrastructure is delivered consistently, effectively and at scale.
Natural England’s development of a comprehensive Menu of Standards could represent the next evolution in green infrastructure planning. This draft menu provides stakeholders with guidance on creating green spaces that are accessible, connected, multifunctional and reflect local character. Natural England will consult on this Menu of Standards over the next year, enabling local authorities to test and refine these tools.
The framework’s influence extends to national policy through its inclusion in the National Planning Policy Framework in connection with the Golden Rules for Green Belt land release. This ensures that the Government’s housebuilding target of 1.5 million homes will deliver high-quality places that benefit both people and nature.
International recognition came through a G7 Summit case study, positioning England as a leader in systematic green infrastructure planning.
A Strategic Approach to Land Budgets
To address commercial challenges and ensure systematic green infrastructure provision, urban planners must adopt coherent frameworks based on multi-functionality, connectivity, integrated management, strategic investment and accurate economic valuation. Land budgets provide a structural mechanism for achieving these objectives, ensuring that green infrastructure protection is embedded at the outset of planning processes.
By establishing land budgets that incorporate the true value of green infrastructure, cities can make more informed decisions about resource allocation. This approach ensures that green spaces are integral components of urban development from the planning stage. The myriad initiatives currently feeding into green infrastructure deployment, from Natural England’s framework to local authority strategies, all point toward the same objective: systematic integration of nature into urban environments.
Green infrastructure investments improve town and city aesthetics, increase property values, reduce healthcare costs, mitigate climate change impacts and enhance overall quality of life. The proximity of green infrastructure to people becomes a critical consideration, ensuring that benefits are distributed equitably across communities rather than concentrated in affluent areas.
Conclusion
The rapid evolution of green infrastructure policy and practice represents a fundamental shift in how we approach urban planning. From Natural England’s comprehensive framework to local authority implementation of Green Infrastructure Standards and the Urban Greening Factor Standard, multiple mechanisms are converging to embed green infrastructure systematically in local planning processes.
While these approaches are not necessarily mandated, they represent part of a wider drive to ensure that nature considerations are embedded from the outset of development planning.
Land budgets offer a structural mechanism to support this transformation by allocating space for green infrastructure within planning frameworks from the earliest stages. Rather than treating green space as an extra, this systematic approach recognises it as essential infrastructure vital to climate resilience, biodiversity and public wellbeing.
Natural England’s emerging Menu of Standards will provide additional tools to support applications and ensure consistent delivery of high-quality green infrastructure. The direction of change is clear and encouraging. All policy initiatives point in the same direction, creating a supportive environment for green infrastructure delivery. Local authorities, developers, and communities increasingly recognise the value of systematic green infrastructure planning, while national policy frameworks provide the backing needed for ambitious implementation.
Most importantly, the people and organisations needed to deliver this transformation are already in place and actively working toward these shared objectives. The challenge now lies in maintaining this momentum and ensuring that the tools and frameworks being developed translate into tangible improvements in urban environments across England.
