West Midlands national park receives green light

A Government review has backed plans for a new urban National Park in the West Midlands.

The Landscapes Review, which was commissioned by central Government last year, has supported the ambitious plans.

Originally conceived by Immediate Past President of IFLA, Birmingham City University Professor and landscape architect Kathryn Moore, the proposal for a West Midlands National Park has since received substantial backing from the mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street and support from a host of institutions across the world.

The final report from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Landscapes Review was published this month, with the publication noting that reviewers were ‘impressed’ by the proposals for the West Midlands and that they ‘hope it happens’ and want ‘to see them thrive’.

The concept would create a National Park in the region spanning more than seven cities, creating hundreds of miles of green space, conservation areas and new cycle routes.

It would re-imagine what the West Midlands could become by taking a new look at the way its landscape is viewed.

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