On 1 September, the Scottish Government published ‘Protecting Scotland, Renewing Scotland: Programme for Government 2020-21’.

The First Minister sets out clearly that “in recovering from this virus it must not be business as usual.” She continues “We must use this moment to make significant advances to deliver the fairer, greener, more prosperous Scotland we all want to see. Our economic recover must be a green recovery.”

The programme includes a range of commitments relevant to greenspace, green networks and green infrastructure. These include:

• taking forward 20 minute neighbourhoods
• ensuring all new social housing offers private or communal outdoor space
• considering recommendations from the Vacant & Derelict Land Taskforce and exploring opportunities to invest in blue and green infrastructure
• trialling mini-forests as an approach to restoring biodiversity
• Green Jobs Fund
• network of Climate Action Towns
• regional hubs to empower communities to make the transition to net zero and climate resilient living.

greenspace scotland has prepared a summary of key headlines and extracts relevant to greenspace, green networks and green infrastructure – you can download it

Download our summary here

Read the Programme for Government