National Lottery Nature Fund Awards £15m to Transform Urban Green Spaces Across the UK

The Nature Towns and Cities initiative, led by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with the National Trust and Natural England, has awarded £15 million to projects aimed at revitalising public parks and green spaces across towns and cities in the UK and Northern Ireland.

The fund supports 19 individual projects across all four home nations, helping local authorities and community partners take the first steps in nature-led urban development. It reflects a long-standing commitment to environmental regeneration.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

“We have invested over £1bn in regenerating over 900 urban parks and green spaces over the last 30 years, helping nature thrive in towns everywhere.”

As part of the announcement, Birmingham has been named the UK’s first official Nature City, and Poole has been recognised as the first Nature Town — milestones that highlight growing momentum behind urban nature recovery.

Examples of the funding include £850,514 awarded to a Belfast initiative to co-design a nature recovery plan for the city and surrounding areas, and £999,951 to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority — the largest single award and 95% of the total requested in their bid.

McGuinness added:

“This exciting initiative, working with partners right across the UK, will build on this investment and give millions of people better access to nature close to home.”

Of 38 councils that applied, 19 were successful in receiving funding.

In other lottery industry news, Evoplay has made its debut in the Peruvian lottery sector, securing a new partnership with licensed operator Loterías Torito.