Coronavirus: Peterborough residents boosted by private garden space during lockdown

A report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which conducted an analysis of Ordnance Survey map data, has revealed that 94 per cent of addresses in the city have private outdoor space, which has proved hugely valuable during the coronavirus lockdown.

This places Peterborough 44th highest out of a list of 371 local authority areas.

According to the ONS data, out of the 85,825 addresses in the city, 80,470 have private outdoor space - 99 per cent of people living in houses and 71 per cent living in flats.

Across Britain one in eight households do not have access to a private or shared garden.

In London, more than one in five households (21 per cent) was found to have no outdoor space at home - the highest percentage of any region or country in Britain.

South Tyneside in the North East came top of the pile with 97 per cent of properties having access to outdoor space.

The analysis also found racial and occupational disparities, with people from minority ethnic groups and those working in manual occupations less likely to have access to a private garden.

Black people in England are nearly four times as likely as white people to have no access to a private or shared garden, a patio or a balcony, according to the report.

It says: “Even when we compare people of similar age, social grade and living situation (similar area, with or without children), those of black ethnicity are 2.4 times less likely than those of white ethnicity to have a private garden.”

Lockdown restrictions have been eased in England, with people now able to sunbathe or relax in public, but visits to parks must still be for the purpose of exercise in Scotland and Wales.

A spokesperson for the Government said: “We know that spending time in green spaces can support health and wellbeing.

“Our updated guidance means that people can now spend more time outdoors in parks and open spaces and enjoy a wider range of outdoor activities for any length of time, subject to social distancing.”