The true value of green space in new developments
Article Provided By: PNPR
Green infrastructure has evolved from a planning obligation to a genuine sales asset, driven by shifting buyer priorities and compelling market evidence. Tim Foreman, Land and New Homes Group MD at LRG, examines why well-designed open space is now central to development success, and what the industry needs to understand about its economic and social value.
The way developers think about green space has shifted completely. It used to be seen as a nice-to-have and something that helped with sales. Now it’s both, mandated through planning policy and one of the main things that determines whether a development succeeds. This change comes down to three things: what buyers actually want has changed, planning rules have evolved and there’s mounting evidence that good green infrastructure pays for itself.
Buyer priorities aren’t what they used to be. Quality outdoor amenities have become key selling points and access to green space is increasingly becoming part of the purchase decision, sitting alongside traditional considerations like location, property size and local schools.
The economic case is increasingly robust. The Land Trust has calculated that if the government delivers its commitment to build 1.5 million homes, green infrastructure and open space within those developments could generate an estimated £5bn in social value. That figure not only encompasses health benefits, environmental improvements and economic activity, but it also reflects something simpler: people value access to quality outdoor space, and that value translates directly into property prices and community success.
The shift in buyer priorities
A smaller house with a modest garden is no longer seen as a compromise when the development offers multiple well-designed green spaces within walking distance. Buyers are actively seeking developments with substantial outdoor amenities such as walking routes, ponds, cycle tracks, play areas, outside gym equipment and well-maintained open space. From a sales perspective, developments with these features consistently outperform those without them.
The SANG model and what it demonstrates
Within the Thames Valley – which covers substantial areas of Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire – the requirements for Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space (SANG) have created an instructive case study. Originally conceived as a biodiversity protection measure, SANG has evolved to demonstrate what high-quality green infrastructure can achieve when properly designed and maintained.
These are not token green spaces. SANG can provide a substantial outdoor amenity with clear paths, seating and genuine consideration for how communities will use them, and the results speak for themselves. Natural England’s 2018 monitoring demonstrated SANG’s success as community infrastructure. Between 2005 and 2018, housing within 5km of the Thames Basin Heaths increased by 12.9%, yet visitor numbers to the protected heathland actually decreased. This was because SANGs had successfully provided attractive alternatives that local residents actively preferred. Visitor surveys at Langley Mead SANG found that 74% of users said the SANG meant they no longer needed to visit other sites, while monitoring across 17 SANGs confirmed they had become regular destinations for local dog walkers.
Perhaps more importantly, SANG developments have transformed accessibility. Much of this land was previously inaccessible to the public – anything from industrial sites to floodplains.
Woodhurst Park in Berkshire demonstrates the long-term value of this approach. The development comprises 750 homes set within a 65-acre country park featuring nature trails, ponds and a village green. Planning began in 2012, well before Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) became mandatory, demonstrating that the business case for substantial green infrastructure was already compelling. The green infrastructure isn’t an afterthought; it’s central to the scheme’s success.
LRG has been involved with Woodhurst Park since 2012, and the sales performance validates the investment case for quality outdoor amenities. All 750 homes have now sold. Notably, some families have moved between properties within Woodhurst Park itself – upsizing when children arrived or downsizing as circumstances changed – choosing to remain within the development rather than leave the area entirely. This demonstrates that well-designed green space doesn’t just drive initial sales, it creates genuine community attachment that translates into long-term market performance.
The country park serves the wider community, not just development residents. Car parks regularly reach capacity because the space has become a destination drawing visitors from across the area. Coffee vans operate from car parks. Dog walkers use it daily. Families make it a weekend destination. The scheme hasn’t just delivered housing; it’s transformed overgrown and inaccessible land into a community asset that enhances both liveability and property values across the wider area, while maintaining strong sales performance over more than a decade.
Biodiversity Net Gain in practice
BNG became mandatory for major developments in early 2024, and the timing matters. BNG arrived just as the business case for quality green space was strengthening and buyers were clearly prioritising it. Schemes that combine biodiversity improvements with genuinely usable community space deliver what the market wants.
The Planning and Infrastructure Act introduces Nature Restoration Funds, which sparked some debate during its passage through Parliament. Under this mechanism, developers could pay into a central pot for biodiversity work elsewhere rather than delivering everything on site. That might simplify things for big infrastructure schemes, but there’s a valid worry that it becomes an excuse to skip the integrated green space that residents can walk to. A nature reserve 20 miles away doesn’t give the same value as a park you can reach in five minutes.
The planning system needs to recognise the distinction between biodiversity offsetting and genuine community infrastructure; likewise, it must distinguish between biodiversity compensation mechanisms and community infrastructure that enhances daily life.
Implications for the industry
Green infrastructure can no longer be considered an add-on or planning concession. Quality green space has become essential to how developments perform, affecting sales speed, the prices achieved, how well communities settle in and whether the scheme holds its value over time. Developers who see green space as wasted land that could have had more houses on it are missing what’s actually happening in the market.
The industry is adapting to new regulatory requirements around biodiversity and sustainability, often viewing them as additional burdens on already challenging development economics. Perhaps the more productive perspective recognises that these requirements increasingly align with what creates successful developments. The challenge isn’t whether to provide quality green infrastructure – the market has already answered that question – but how to structure funding, management and delivery models that make it economically sustainable at scale.
Green space has moved from a planning obligation to a market differentiator. The developments that recognise and act on that shift will be the ones that thrive in an increasingly regulated environment. The true value isn’t simply in meeting biodiversity metrics or satisfying planning conditions; it’s in creating places where people genuinely want to live, which remains the fundamental driver of housing market success.
This feature highlights how the industry is moving towards development models where nature, usability and long‑term stewardship sit at the heart of placemaking. It reflects a wider shift across the built environment, where green infrastructure is recognised not as an optional extra, but as a core ingredient in creating places people genuinely want to live — and where value is measured not only in metrics, but in everyday experience.
