The best places to live for parks and play spaces

City of London has the best access to parks of 363 councils: 100% of its homes are within 400 m of a public park. Next come Kensington and Chelsea (99%), Tower Hamlets (98%), Westminster (97%), Islington (96%). Ryedale has the least, at 11%. For comparison: 56% across Great Britain.

Best access to parks in each nation

England: City of London (100%)
Wales: Cardiff (72%)
Scotland: City of Edinburgh (82%)

All 363 councils, best first

Select a column heading to re-sort. Every council links to its area guide. Download this table (CSV).

Best places to live for parks: all 363 councils, best first. Sources and method below.
Rank	Council	Nation	Homes within 400 m of a park	Within 400 m of a play space
1	City of London	England	100%	58%
2	Kensington and Chelsea	England	99%	70%
3	Tower Hamlets	England	98%	98%
4	Westminster	England	97%	81%
5	Islington	England	96%	99%
6	Southwark	England	96%	95%
7	Hackney	England	94%	99%
8	Harlow	England	90%	85%
9	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	89%	93%
10	Stevenage	England	89%	87%
11	Stoke-on-Trent	England	88%	54%
12	Milton Keynes	England	87%	88%
13	Camden	England	86%	92%
14	Lambeth	England	86%	91%
15	Lewisham	England	86%	77%
16	Bristol	England	84%	63%
17	Greenwich	England	83%	74%
18	City of Edinburgh	Scotland	82%	74%
19	Glasgow City	Scotland	82%	78%
20	Bracknell Forest	England	81%	81%
21	Dundee City	Scotland	80%	74%
22	Knowsley	England	80%	45%
23	Haringey	England	79%	77%
24	Newcastle upon Tyne	England	79%	53%
25	Tamworth	England	79%	50%
26	Ealing	England	78%	70%
27	Leicester	England	78%	77%
28	Newham	England	77%	83%
29	South Tyneside	England	77%	47%
30	Telford and Wrekin	England	77%	75%
31	Falkirk	Scotland	76%	78%
32	Swindon	England	76%	76%
33	East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	75%	78%
34	Watford	England	75%	75%
35	West Dunbartonshire	Scotland	75%	89%
36	West Lothian	Scotland	75%	88%
37	Barking and Dagenham	England	74%	60%
38	Merton	England	74%	65%
39	Newcastle-under-Lyme	England	74%	61%
40	Richmond upon Thames	England	74%	69%
41	Aberdeen City	Scotland	73%	80%
42	Halton	England	73%	56%
43	Hastings	England	73%	68%
44	Liverpool	England	73%	37%
45	Redditch	England	73%	66%
46	Wandsworth	England	73%	77%
47	Cardiff	Wales	72%	60%
48	Barnet	England	71%	53%
49	Bexley	England	71%	50%
50	Gateshead	England	71%	65%
51	St. Helens	England	71%	54%
52	Cannock Chase	England	70%	64%
53	East Lothian	Scotland	70%	83%
54	Manchester	England	70%	50%
55	Peterborough	England	70%	79%
56	Plymouth	England	70%	78%
57	Portsmouth	England	70%	76%
58	Brent	England	69%	71%
59	St Albans	England	69%	65%
60	Warrington	England	69%	65%
61	Basingstoke and Deane	England	67%	74%
62	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	England	67%	51%
63	Coventry	England	67%	39%
64	Hounslow	England	67%	74%
65	Middlesbrough	England	67%	45%
66	Salford	England	67%	53%
67	Southampton	England	67%	74%
68	Burnley	England	66%	80%
69	Clackmannanshire	Scotland	66%	88%
70	Fife	Scotland	66%	83%
71	Nottingham	England	66%	72%
72	Redbridge	England	66%	45%
73	Sheffield	England	66%	48%
74	Waltham Forest	England	66%	74%
75	Wokingham	England	66%	72%
76	Birmingham	England	65%	49%
77	Gosport	England	65%	73%
78	North Tyneside	England	65%	48%
79	Preston	England	65%	65%
80	Sutton	England	65%	57%
81	Thanet	England	65%	53%
82	Torbay	England	65%	64%
83	Bolton	England	64%	58%
84	Bury	England	64%	50%
85	Hertsmere	England	64%	57%
86	Kingston upon Hull	England	64%	65%
87	Norwich	England	64%	85%
88	Slough	England	64%	78%
89	Basildon	England	63%	72%
90	Dacorum	England	63%	63%
91	East Ayrshire	Scotland	63%	72%
92	Gloucester	England	63%	73%
93	Newport	Wales	63%	62%
94	South Gloucestershire	England	63%	69%
95	Stockton-on-Tees	England	63%	38%
96	Tameside	England	63%	40%
97	Barnsley	England	62%	61%
98	Cheltenham	England	62%	72%
99	Epsom and Ewell	England	62%	48%
100	Midlothian	Scotland	62%	84%
101	North Lanarkshire	Scotland	62%	78%
102	Sandwell	England	62%	45%
103	South Ribble	England	62%	50%
104	Wirral	England	62%	42%
105	Crawley	England	61%	79%
106	Darlington	England	61%	56%
107	Enfield	England	61%	61%
108	Gravesham	England	61%	68%
109	Hart	England	61%	57%
110	Luton	England	61%	60%
111	Rochdale	England	61%	56%
112	South Ayrshire	Scotland	61%	75%
113	Angus	Scotland	60%	67%
114	Bedford	England	60%	70%
115	Brighton and Hove	England	60%	57%
116	Broxbourne	England	60%	67%
117	East Renfrewshire	Scotland	60%	63%
118	Hillingdon	England	60%	70%
119	Hyndburn	England	60%	57%
120	Oxford	England	60%	84%
121	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	60%	73%
122	Stirling	Scotland	60%	69%
123	Stockport	England	60%	64%
124	Sunderland	England	60%	48%
125	Swansea	Wales	60%	57%
126	Colchester	England	59%	63%
127	Eastleigh	England	59%	72%
128	Ipswich	England	59%	74%
129	Lancaster	England	59%	68%
130	Wrexham	Wales	59%	62%
131	Cambridge	England	58%	87%
132	Eastbourne	England	58%	53%
133	North Northamptonshire	England	58%	63%
134	Rushmoor	England	58%	86%
135	Sefton	England	58%	48%
136	Vale of Glamorgan	Wales	58%	72%
137	York	England	58%	70%
138	Huntingdonshire	England	57%	64%
139	Leeds	England	57%	45%
140	Lincoln	England	57%	55%
141	North Ayrshire	Scotland	57%	65%
142	Nuneaton and Bedworth	England	57%	63%
143	Rugby	England	57%	70%
144	Trafford	England	57%	58%
145	Bromley	England	56%	47%
146	Chelmsford	England	56%	67%
147	Cherwell	England	56%	74%
148	Cheshire West and Chester	England	56%	63%
149	Chorley	England	56%	66%
150	Dudley	England	56%	38%
151	Inverclyde	Scotland	56%	78%
152	Mansfield	England	56%	56%
153	Medway	England	56%	66%
154	Pendle	England	56%	62%
155	Reading	England	56%	70%
156	Scarborough	England	56%	56%
157	Thurrock	England	56%	70%
158	Worcester	England	56%	62%
159	Bradford	England	55%	56%
160	Chesterfield	England	55%	70%
161	Croydon	England	55%	53%
162	Exeter	England	55%	77%
163	Folkestone and Hythe	England	55%	68%
164	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	55%	70%
165	Mid Sussex	England	55%	73%
166	Test Valley	England	55%	62%
167	Wakefield	England	55%	52%
168	Wigan	England	55%	52%
169	Windsor and Maidenhead	England	55%	60%
170	Ashford	England	54%	56%
171	Blackpool	England	54%	51%
172	Carlisle	England	54%	60%
173	Dartford	England	54%	74%
174	Derby	England	54%	59%
175	Hartlepool	England	54%	42%
176	Moray	Scotland	54%	69%
177	North Somerset	England	54%	54%
178	Renfrewshire	Scotland	54%	80%
179	Rossendale	England	54%	47%
180	Southend-on-Sea	England	54%	49%
181	Walsall	England	54%	48%
182	Wolverhampton	England	53%	51%
183	Erewash	England	52%	67%
184	Surrey Heath	England	52%	62%
185	Dover	England	51%	55%
186	Guildford	England	51%	51%
187	Havering	England	51%	49%
188	Isles of Scilly	England	51%	24%
189	Lichfield	England	51%	47%
190	Warwick	England	51%	65%
191	Ashfield	England	50%	57%
192	Harrogate	England	50%	48%
193	Kingston upon Thames	England	50%	54%
194	Kirklees	England	50%	71%
195	Redcar and Cleveland	England	50%	49%
196	Swale	England	50%	69%
197	Tendring	England	50%	46%
198	Braintree	England	49%	58%
199	Cheshire East	England	49%	57%
200	Fareham	England	49%	56%
201	Oadby and Wigston	England	49%	61%
202	Tunbridge Wells	England	49%	54%
203	West Northamptonshire	England	49%	57%
204	Bath and North East Somerset	England	48%	71%
205	Blackburn with Darwen	England	48%	63%
206	Caerphilly	Wales	48%	57%
207	Charnwood	England	48%	66%
208	Havant	England	48%	62%
209	Hinckley and Bosworth	England	48%	56%
210	Oldham	England	48%	56%
211	Torfaen	Wales	48%	61%
212	Adur	England	47%	74%
213	Amber Valley	England	47%	69%
214	Barrow-in-Furness	England	47%	58%
215	Reigate and Banstead	England	47%	51%
216	Runnymede	England	47%	56%
217	Spelthorne	England	47%	58%
218	Three Rivers	England	47%	60%
219	Wyre	England	47%	43%
220	Fenland	England	46%	51%
221	Harrow	England	46%	52%
222	Scottish Borders	Scotland	46%	69%
223	South Derbyshire	England	46%	58%
224	Worthing	England	46%	53%
225	Wyre Forest	England	46%	51%
226	Arun	England	45%	67%
227	Canterbury	England	45%	52%
228	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	45%	68%
229	North Devon	England	45%	61%
230	Rushcliffe	England	45%	52%
231	Tonbridge and Malling	England	45%	52%
232	Welwyn Hatfield	England	45%	62%
233	Wiltshire	England	45%	59%
234	Broxtowe	England	44%	61%
235	Castle Point	England	44%	40%
236	County Durham	England	44%	51%
237	East Staffordshire	England	44%	66%
238	East Suffolk	England	44%	55%
239	Highland	Scotland	44%	60%
240	Maidstone	England	44%	66%
241	Northumberland	England	44%	52%
242	Perth and Kinross	Scotland	44%	65%
243	Vale of White Horse	England	44%	62%
244	West Lancashire	England	44%	56%
245	Buckinghamshire	England	43%	53%
246	North East Lincolnshire	England	43%	48%
247	West Suffolk	England	43%	57%
248	Blaby	England	42%	62%
249	Denbighshire	Wales	42%	60%
250	Doncaster	England	42%	54%
251	Elmbridge	England	42%	51%
252	Fylde	England	42%	58%
253	Gedling	England	42%	62%
254	High Peak	England	42%	56%
255	Horsham	England	42%	62%
256	South Staffordshire	England	42%	35%
257	Tewkesbury	England	42%	58%
258	West Berkshire	England	42%	61%
259	Wychavon	England	42%	43%
260	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	41%	67%
261	Calderdale	England	41%	59%
262	North West Leicestershire	England	41%	67%
263	Allerdale	England	40%	53%
264	Central Bedfordshire	England	40%	67%
265	Great Yarmouth	England	40%	71%
266	Harborough	England	40%	58%
267	Mole Valley	England	40%	40%
268	New Forest	England	40%	48%
269	Newark and Sherwood	England	40%	57%
270	North Hertfordshire	England	40%	64%
271	Babergh	England	39%	53%
272	Bolsover	England	39%	63%
273	Brentwood	England	39%	39%
274	Bridgend	Wales	39%	66%
275	Epping Forest	England	39%	43%
276	Malvern Hills	England	39%	33%
277	North Lincolnshire	England	39%	58%
278	Rother	England	39%	40%
279	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	38%	59%
280	East Devon	England	38%	56%
281	East Hampshire	England	38%	52%
282	East Riding of Yorkshire	England	38%	48%
283	Herefordshire	England	38%	48%
284	Isle of Wight	England	38%	46%
285	Tandridge	England	38%	44%
286	Lewes	England	37%	56%
287	Rochford	England	37%	47%
288	Solihull	England	37%	33%
289	Somerset West and Taunton	England	37%	65%
290	South Kesteven	England	37%	51%
291	South Norfolk	England	37%	56%
292	Woking	England	37%	58%
293	Mid Devon	England	36%	57%
294	Rotherham	England	36%	49%
295	South Oxfordshire	England	36%	57%
296	Stratford-on-Avon	England	36%	47%
297	Stroud	England	36%	51%
298	Waverley	England	36%	59%
299	Flintshire	Wales	35%	72%
300	Sedgemoor	England	35%	61%
301	South Cambridgeshire	England	35%	46%
302	Bromsgrove	England	34%	60%
303	Cornwall	England	34%	54%
304	East Hertfordshire	England	34%	62%
305	Ribble Valley	England	34%	53%
306	Teignbridge	England	34%	51%
307	Uttlesford	England	34%	48%
308	West Oxfordshire	England	34%	58%
309	Breckland	England	33%	48%
310	Conwy	Wales	33%	63%
311	Dorset	England	33%	48%
312	East Cambridgeshire	England	33%	47%
313	Melton	England	33%	48%
314	North East Derbyshire	England	33%	60%
315	Sevenoaks	England	33%	45%
316	South Somerset	England	33%	53%
317	Bassetlaw	England	32%	46%
318	Derbyshire Dales	England	32%	41%
319	Orkney Islands	Scotland	32%	43%
320	Rutland	England	32%	52%
321	West Lindsey	England	32%	43%
322	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	31%	48%
323	Copeland	England	31%	40%
324	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	England	31%	43%
325	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	31%	56%
326	Pembrokeshire	Wales	31%	43%
327	South Hams	England	31%	48%
328	South Holland	England	31%	47%
329	Shropshire	England	30%	47%
330	Staffordshire Moorlands	England	30%	44%
331	Boston	England	29%	57%
332	Craven	England	29%	49%
333	West Devon	England	29%	41%
334	Broadland	England	28%	45%
335	Carmarthenshire	Wales	28%	41%
336	Maldon	England	28%	44%
337	Mendip	England	28%	58%
338	Winchester	England	28%	58%
339	Cotswold	England	27%	45%
340	Hambleton	England	27%	43%
341	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	27%	68%
342	North Norfolk	England	26%	46%
343	Selby	England	26%	51%
344	Torridge	England	26%	57%
345	North Kesteven	England	25%	44%
346	Wealden	England	25%	46%
347	Chichester	England	23%	46%
348	Stafford	England	23%	61%
349	Eden	England	21%	32%
350	Monmouthshire	Wales	21%	60%
351	East Lindsey	England	20%	31%
352	North Warwickshire	England	20%	46%
353	South Lakeland	England	19%	49%
354	Powys	Wales	18%	30%
355	Shetland Islands	Scotland	18%	39%
356	Ceredigion	Wales	17%	28%
357	Forest of Dean	England	16%	50%
358	Gwynedd	Wales	16%	44%
359	Isle of Anglesey	Wales	16%	36%
360	Mid Suffolk	England	16%	44%
361	Richmondshire	England	16%	52%
362	Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	13%	30%
363	Ryedale	England	11%	34%

How this ranking is made

From Ordnance Survey's OS Open Greenspace, we measure the straight-line distance from the centre of every census area to the edge of the nearest public park or garden, and separately to the nearest children's play space, on a 10 m grid. A council's figure is the share of its households in areas within 400 m — about a five-minute walk. A straight line is shorter than the real route. Northern Ireland is not covered by OS Open Greenspace.

Common questions

Which council has the best access to parks?

City of London, where 100% of homes are within 400 m of a public park or garden, against 56% across Great Britain.

Which council has the least access to parks?

Ryedale, where 11% of homes are within 400 m of a public park. Rural councils rank low because their parks are few and far apart, even where countryside is close.

Why are cities near the top?

Dense cities have many small parks and squares close to homes, so more households are within a short walk of one, even if total green space per person is lower.

More rankings

Quietest places to live in Great Britain · House prices per square metre by council · Crime rate by council · Social housing by council

Open data under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full details in the methodology. Page updated 9 October 2026. If you use these figures, a link to this page is appreciated.