England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database
Version 2026.1
Key information and Copyright

Issued 21st May 2026

Useful Links

A method statement detailing the technical approaches taken to producing the Green Infrastructure mapping is available here: Method Statement

Information on how to download the mapping data can be found on the Data Downloads page

You can access the Defra information on Access to Green and Blue Space (issued March 2026) here: GOV.UK

Please note the mapping in module 8 uses August 2025 data and is due to be updated for the next version of the GI Mapping.

Introduction

Mapping on the England Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards website includes mapping for:

  1. Green Infrastructure in England.
  2. The All England Index of Multiple Environmental Deprivation.
  3. The Environmental Equity Index for all English Built Up Areas.

Collectively these will be referred to as the England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database, or the Database for short.

The England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database is designed to provide technical evidence on the Green Infrastructure of England as an open data product under Open Government License (OGL) conditions.

Version 2026.1 of the mapping also includes the first iterations of the All England Index of Multiple Environmental Deprivation and the Environmental Equity Index for all English Built Up Areas.

Together, the full suite of mapping will be known as "The Database".

The Database aims to be:

  • A publicly accessible data, analysis and mapping resource.
  • A resource providing nationally consistent approaches to Green Infrastructure, Environmental Deprivation and Environmental Equity spatial evidence.
  • A resource capable of providing information at multiple scales including (where appropriate) England wide, Local Nature Recovery Strategy areas, Local Authority, other local geographic areas.
  • A resource that can be used to provide evidence to inform a variety of national to local planning, strategy and targeting exercises for the outdoor and natural environments.
  • • A baseline evidence resource providing a consistent level of data and analysis across England capable of being adapted and/or supplemented with additional and/or local data as required by the end user.

The database will be maintained and updated periodically. Periodic updates will lead to the issue of an updated database which will be identified by a new version number.

Section 1.2 - Statement of disclaimer

Intellectual Property Disclaimer

The England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database, Indices of Multiple Environmental Deprivation (IMED) and Environmental Equity Index (EEI) may contain information which belongs to other parties. Users must ensure that any use of this information does not breach the owner's copyright. If it is unclear whether any particular use is permissible, users should contact the copyright owner.

Information supplied through the England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database, IMED and EEI is updated periodically by the organisations that provide it (including Natural England). Data will have been captured or derived for a specific purpose and at a scale relevant to that purpose. This does not guarantee that the data is fit for any other purpose.

The IMED and EEI datasets are intended to support strategic assessment, screening and prioritisation activities. They should not be interpreted as measures of direct environmental exposure, health impact, causality or regulatory compliance. Users should consider the methodology, limitations and intended purpose of the datasets before applying them to policy, planning or operational decision-making.

General Disclaimer

The materials contained on this website are of a general, informational nature. We have used reasonable endeavours to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the contents of these pages; however, the information does not constitute advice and must not be relied upon as such.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Natural England and the partner organisations contributing to the England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database, Indices of Multiple Environmental Deprivation (IMED) and Environmental Equity Index (EEI) shall not be liable for any loss, damage or inconvenience of any nature whatsoever arising from any inaccuracy, omission or error contained within these pages.

Links to external websites are provided for information only. Natural England and the partner organisations contributing to the England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database, IMED and EEI accept no responsibility or liability for the content of, or access to, any website linked from or to this site.

Natural England and the partner organisations contributing to the England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database, IMED and EEI do not endorse, approve or accept responsibility for the content of any external website referred to or accessed through this site.

The IMED and EEI datasets are intended to support strategic assessment, screening and prioritisation activities and should not be relied upon as the sole basis for policy, planning, investment or operational decisions.

Statement on sources of error

The England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database, Index of Multiple Environmental Deprivation and Environmental Equity Index collectively brings together data from multiple sources. To generate usable maps, the data has required a whole range of assumptions, simplifications, combinations, interpretations and generalisations.

We cannot check the exact details for every land parcel on the map so what the map says can be at variance with the situation on the ground.

This underscores the importance of ground truthing and supplementation with local data (and knowledge) when using the maps at local scales.

Please note. There are a number of sources of error in the England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database. These include;

  • Error and/or omissions (missing data) in the source data that will have transferred into the maps.
  • There may be errors generated by the generalisations and assumptions that have had to be made to make the mapping practicable.
  • There may be errors due to cartographic simplification or the divergence of cartographic representation between different source data.
  • There may be errors that have been generated by processing error or data corruptions.
  • There may be errors as a result of time lag (data drift) between the source data content at the time it was produced and change on the ground. Changes on the ground may take time to appear in newer versions of the source data.

Acknowledgements

The England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database has been created as a part of delivering the 25 Year Environment Plan aspiration to establish a National Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards for England and is also a part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystems Assessment Programme.

The work for Version 1.1 was undertaken during the years 2020 - 21.

The work for Version 1.2 was undertaken during the calendar year 2022.

The work for Version 2.1 was undertaken during 2023 and early 2024 with some of the experimental content having been in development since 2021.

The work for Version 2.2 was undertaken between June 2024 and May 2025.

The work for Version 2026.1 was undertaken between July 2025 and April 2026.

The England Green Infrastructure Mapping Database was commissioned and funded by Defra, Natural England and the Natural Capital and Ecosystems Assessment Programme (NCEA) with collaborative contributions from The Rivers Trust and the University of Manchester.

NCEA

Learn more about the Natural Capital and Ecosystems Assessment Programme here - NCEA.

The contractors that have been involved in delivering elements of the England Green Infrastructure Mapping are:

2Excel Aviation. Urban Habitat and Naturalness Mapping (Pilots and Phase 1 trial).

Project Team - Chloe Barnes, Loreena Jaouen, Klara Halikova.

ADAS Ltd. V 1.1 and V 1.2 core content and subsequent associated work.

Project Team - Ben Hockridge, George Holmes.

DSM Soft (Urban Habitat Mapping Trials 2 and 3).

Project Team - Ranjith Kumar MS, Rajasekar E, Priyadharshini S, Yugapriya T and Mugundan P.

LUC (land Use Consultants). V 2.1 core content development phase 2 and V 2.2 updates (Asset register, Greenspace and Blue Infrastructure).

Project Team - Kim Jones, Diana Manson, George Holmes and Izzy Grace.

The Rivers Trust. Blue Infrastructure module partial amendment.

Project Team - Chris Bean, David Johnson.

The University of Manchester. Urban Heat, Air Quality and Green Infrastructure and Urban Food Production modules.

Project Team - Professor Sarah Lindley, Dr Richard Figueroa Alfaro (Heat module).

Westcountry Rivers Ltd. V 1.2 Blue Infrastructure module development and V 2.1 core content development Phase 1.

Project Team - Sarah Wigley, Emily Howard-Williams and Oakley Brunt.

Public Rights of Way data

Barry Cornellus has developed a useful website that provides access to Public Rights of Way data from Highway Authorities across England and Wales. "rowmaps" can be accessed at rowmaps.com with information on Local Authority PRoW data and further links to individual sites.

IMED and EEI

The Index of Multiple Environmental Deprivation and Environmental Equity Index have been produced in partnership with the following Organisations:

Environment Agency

Joe Swift - Environmental Equity Index (EEI) and Indices of Multiple Environmental Deprivation (IMED)

Friends of the Earth

Mike Childs and Toby Bridgeman – EEI & IMED – Projected Heat Exposure

University of Lincoln

Harriet Moore, Amogh Mudbhatkal, John Atanbori, Bartholomew Hill – EEI & IMED - Population Weighted IMED by LSOA

University of Staffordshire

Jon Fairburn – EEI & IMED

University of Leeds

Gordon Mitchell - EEI & IMED

Deprivation.org

David McLennan – EEI & IMED

National Trust

David Coughlin – EEI & IMED

Idox Ltd. Presentation and design of the GI mapping on the Green Infrastructure Website.

Project Team - Andy Brewer, Patrick Beasley.