Disparities found by a walking charity in accessing to the outdoors in Bucks, Beds and Herts
A waking charity is calling for the countryside and green spaces to be made more accessible to residents in the three counties.
Ramblers, a walking charities with groups around the country, found disparities in the ability to access public footpaths and nature.
The charity commissioned a report which found more deprived communities struggling to access the outdoors.
In their report, the New Economics Foundation, found that the old, the wealthy, the white and the healthy have the greatest provision to path networks for walking, and enjoy up to 80% more routes in their local area than the most deprived.
"...a network that really connects the community..."
Jack Cornish, Head of Paths at Ramblers, said: "There are real stark inequalities in terms of where paths are in relation to people, for instance, the residents of the most affluent areas of England and Wales enjoy 80% more paths in their area than the most deprived."
There is also a health concern with the number of heart attacks being higher in areas where the number of paths are at their lowest.
Mr Cornish said: "When we could go out for a walk during the pandemic, people got a massive benefit from that and I think that they need the infrastructure there."
"What we really want is a network that really connects the community and so people can go for a walk from their doorstep."
The gap even widens when looking at the ethnicity divide, with the most white-dominated areas having almost one and a half times (144%) more local paths than the most ethnically diverse areas of England and Wales.
Mr Cornish said: "In Buckinghamshire, we found there is some real disparities within the county. Some of that are urban versus rural, but some of the lack of provisions really extends out to the urban fringe."
People suffering from a disability were further found to suffer from the lack of accessible footpaths.
A YouGov poll further found 71% of people think more time, money, and resources should be put into the path network.
Ramblers praised the health benefits of being active in nature, which they are hoping increased investment into footpaths could help with the health of the general public.