New national campaign calls for minimum garden standards as more than 1M new outdoor spaces could be created across Britain in the coming years

Housebuilders are being urged to stop leaving buyers with poorly prepared gardens that can cost thousands of pounds to put right.

The New Build Manifesto, launched by award-winning garden writer and designer Andrew Jackson, calls for better soil, drainage, planting and wildlife-friendly spaces as part of every new housing development.

With more than a million new gardens potentially being created during the current Parliament, the campaign warns that Britain risks missing a major opportunity to improve residential green spaces.

Many buyers are said to inherit gardens with compacted soil, thin turf, basic fencing and inadequate drainage, leaving them facing considerable additional expense.

Jackson, who developed the campaign after transforming his own new-build garden, said: “We are building new homes at a huge scale, but we urgently need to ask what we are building around them too.

“We have the opportunity to create more than a million new gardens in just a few years. Imagine the impact if those gardens began life with decent soil, better planting, space for nature and the ability to cope with heavier rainfall and hotter summers.

“A new garden shouldn’t be an expensive problem handed to the homeowner with the keys. Done properly, it can be an asset from day one – for the people who live there, for wildlife and for the neighbourhood around it.”

The manifesto calls for minimum standards covering soil quality, drainage, trees and planting, alongside measures to help wildlife move between neighbouring gardens.

It also wants outdoor spaces designed to withstand increasingly extreme weather, including heavier rainfall and hotter summers.

The voluntary campaign is inviting developers, homeowners, environmental organisations and policymakers to support its proposals, while offering practical advice to existing new-build owners.

Jackson added: “This isn’t about demanding elaborate landscaped gardens with every new house. It’s about getting the fundamentals right.”

READ MORE: Housing costs hit recruitment at 77% of large London firms, survey finds. London Chamber of Commerce calls for mortgages of up to six times income after new research finds fewer than half of young Londoners expect to afford a suitable home within a decade.

Do you have news to share or expertise to contribute? The European welcomes insights from business leaders and sector specialists. Get in touch with our editorial team to find out more.

_{Main image: Ryan Collis via Pexels}