Green vision for a blooming future: Open spaces are vital to stemming London's decline. Helen Nowicka reports

London cannot function into the next century unless its environment and quality of life improve dramatically, according to a report by the Countryside Commission published tomorrow.

Its authors argue that taking more care of parks and reducing the number of daily journeys between the home, leisure areas and the workplace are crucial to reversing the population drift.

More than one million Londoners moved out between 1971 and 1991, reducing the population to just over six million. The document argues that if the trend continues, large tracts of countryside will disappear, transport links will gridlock and the city will be trapped in a downward spiral of decay.

The paper, Securing a Greener Future for London, states that creating new areas of open space and redirecting resources to improve parkland would improve living conditions and increase property values.

It says the importance of 'green lungs should be enshrined in the Government and local authorities' long-term strategic plans, with national, regional and voluntary agencies working to create high quality parks in every district.

Specific suggestions from the document, the commission's response to the Government's London-wide consultation on improving the capital, include:

planting trees along main arterial routes to enhance the sense of London as a green, leafy city;

preventing development on open land but where this is unavoidable, compensating for the loss with comparable space nearby;

reorganising budgets and seeking new funds for the creation and improvement of open areas;

turning land awaiting redevelopment into temporary parks;

increasing public awareness of green spaces, especially among infrequent users - often people with low incomes, poor housing or from ethnic minorities;

providing more walking, cycling and riding routes away from heavy traffic.

Mike Kirby, director of operations with the Countryside Commission, said: 'A sustainable city is about people who value the environment and will care for it. If people feel they are surviving London rather than enjoying it they will want to escape, and that would damage the countryside.

'Instead we can bring most of the qualities in life that they want to their doorstep. In the future we want to reduce the number of unnecessary journeys. Leisure and pleasure should be made local - that is the idea of a sustainable city.

He added while it is vital to retain the green belt, public open space and water which make up 29 per cent of Greater London, some require better management.

'We need to make the best standards apply everywhere. Burgess Park in Southwark is a good example of somewhere that is two-thirds of the way there, but is not quite finished.

'It is a large open space, it needs quality, permanent attention. People do things that they wouldn't get away with in Regent's Park; rubbish piles up and it looks unloved.

Mr Kirby emphasised that improving the environment had to involve the support of local people who must provide the necessary resources and commitment. A key principle should be to ensure that open spaces are enjoyable, safe places to go, particularly for children and women.

'Children are more and more inhibited about leaving home. We as their guardians are inhibited for them. We have to design places that are safer, and that are cared for.

'If they don't have the opportunity to enjoy a green environment they will be less interested in experiencing it as adults.

'These projects won't cost vast sums. Millions are needed but spent over years. This is not a quick fix.

'The great parks of London came about because people had a vision - that vision has been lacking for so long. We have to evolve change with the authority of the community, and this document provides the framework for that to happen.

(Photographs omitted)