RHS: Sell houses with ‘garden performance certificate’ to help health and nature

Homes should be sold with “garden performance certificates” similar to those which analyse energy efficiency, to support health, wellbeing and nature, horticulture experts have suggested.

Royal Horticultural Society director-general Clare Matterson suggested the assessment could take into account elements such as trees, pollinator-friendly planting, space for composting and amenity areas for children to play and adults to relax.

The “GPCs”, which would be similar to energy performance certificates (EPCs) could also look at front garden space, she said, acknowledging the need to provide parking but pointing to the use of permeable paving to reduce water runoff and flood risk.

And elements which are not nature friendly, such as artificial lawns, could receive a very low rating, she said.

Ms Matterson called for the outside space of new homes to be thought about as much as the inside space, because of the benefits it could provide, particularly to people’s health, as well as for wellbeing, nature and tackling climate change.

She said that when people bought houses they could look at the energy performance certificate to see its rating for energy efficiency.

“What about having a garden performance certificate?” she said.

“You might be wanting to rent, you might be wanting to buy, and having that garden performance certificate gives you a real indication of biodiversity, water management, waste management, amenity.

“And then you can get a real sense of do I need to invest in this garden? Is this the garden that’s right for me, is this going to be a big part of my budget going forward?” she said, adding that sales particulars of houses currently have very little in the way of information on the garden of a property.

She said: “With 1.5 million houses we are creating something that’s there for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, these are the spaces of the future.

“Let’s not just worry about the inside of this house, let’s worry about the outside, we can do it now, make sure what we are creating is something that’s for families, or whatever kind of person you are, but also for the future.”

Ms Matterson said the Government and developers needed to focus on outside space, and said it would not be difficult to work out what elements were needed as part of a certification.

“You want nature and biodiversity, you’ve got to think about carbon and tree planting, you’ve got to think about wellbeing space for sitting and relaxing, for amenity, for play, the water management of the garden, a space for composting.”

She acknowledged there would be a need for people who could carry out a rapid assessment of the garden for the “GPC”, but said it would help people buying a new home, and also those who might want to sell their property to develop their garden.