Natural Assets North: Valuing our northern uplands

Article

Natural Assets North is a new IPPR North project which investigates the natural potential of the north of England, including the quality of its landscape, water and coastlines. The natural capital of the North is immense, but its full potential is not yet being realised. This work is part of IPPR North's work on a Great North Plan.

In the first of a series of briefings on Natural Assets North, IPPR North explores the importance of the North’s uplands. The briefing is based on IPPR North’s Natural Assets walking tour of Smithills in Greater Manchester, which took place a few days before the Winter Hill fire broke out in July.

The geography of the North is dominated by its magnificent uplands. Taken together, the North’s uplands feature heathland, blanket bog, and other forms of wetland such as fens and swamps, and include some of the region’s most well-known and loved natural environments, including Northumberland National Park, the North Pennines, the Forest of Bowland, Nidderdale, Yorkshire Dales National Park, the Lake District, and the Peak District.

Related items

  1. The heatwave: Unlocking the economic potential of UK heat pump manufacturing

    Heat pump manufacturing is a strategic priority for the UK economy.
  2. A digital graphic showing a map of the world with an extreme weather warning

    The security blind spot: Cascading climate impacts and tipping points threaten national security

    How climate change poses both immediate and long-term threats that are at least as serious as the Covid-19 pandemic.

  3. Budgeting better: How the UK could start to improve its fiscal framework and boost growth

    The new Labour government’s growth mission is to make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7,