A new UK-first tool which allows urban planners to assess tree coverage and access to green space based on an influential new rule has been developed by Ashby-based Bluesky International.

Using its unique National Tree Map™ (NTM™) data, the Bluesky add-on can now be used to generate a score for different areas based on the 3+30+300 rule.

Introduced in 2021 by Cecil Konijnendijk, co-founder of the Nature Based Solutions Institute, the 3+30+300 rule has gained considerable traction with urban planners, and environmentalists.

In simple terms, the rule states that there should be three trees, 30 per cent canopy coverage, and green space within 300 metres of all residential and workplace buildings.

Using data from the new Bluesky NTM™ add-on, planners will quickly be able to assess the percentage of existing or proposed buildings meeting one, two or three aspects of the rule.

Good looks like all homes and workplaces in a given neighbourhood meeting 100% for all three of the rules.

However, a snapshot analysis of some of the UK’s cities using the new Bluesky tool shows urban areas are falling considerably short of this recommendation.

Using the add-on to analyse Glasgow shows that just 1.5 per cent of buildings currently meet all three rules.

There is also considerable disparity among the London boroughs with Bromley achieving the highest score at 10.2 per cent, and Barking and Dagenham coming in at the bottom of the table with a grading of just 0.4 per cent.

Ralph Coleman, Chief Commercial Officer at Bluesky, commented: 'We see our products as enablers and we are constantly innovating to ensure we can offer our customers tools to support them carry out their work more effectively and efficiently.

'There is a lot of interest right now around the 3+30+300 rule as it offers an excellent indication of the kind of conditions people need to thrive.

'Being able to accurately pinpoint areas for improvement via a desktop exercise that calculates all elements of the 3+30+300 rule is going to be very valuable for a wide range of customers, from local authorities and housing developers through to environmental consultants and health professionals.

'We believe we are now offering the only comprehensive, full national coverage analysis tool for this rule in the UK.'

Cecil Konijnendijk added: 'The 3+30+300 rule is an evidence-based guideline for the greening of our cities and towns that has rapidly gained popularity across the globe.

'I am glad to see companies like Bluesky provide essential support to municipalities and organisations who want to use this guideline for developing more impactful greening programs, in this case especially in the UK.'

The Bluesky analysis tool has been piloted by Aberdeenshire Council with positive feedback. It is now being made available as an additional tool for NTM customers.