Two major landmark reports released last week show that the growth potential of the UK landscaping sector has nearly doubled since the previous 2021 analysis.

Published by the Environmental Horticulture Group (EHG) and Oxford Economics (OE), the reports reveal that adequate government support would increase the sector’s worth to £51.2bn, while supporting 763,000 jobs by 2030. Landscaping services represent around 50% of this value.

In the same week, Pro Landscaper published its Biodiversity Net Gain in Practice guide, with eight recommendations on how the legislation introduced earlier this year can be achieved and developed.

Biodiversity net gain requires developers to deliver a minimum improvement of 10% to a development’s existing biodiversity and habitats and has created an opportunity for landscapers to influence project design and development at an earlier stage.

Key stakeholders came together for a day of workshops hosted by Pro Landscaper in September to determine how to best take advantage of the opportunity and help to ensure the success of the legislation, which has been brought together in the new guide.

Next year, Pro Landscaper is providing another chance for people to come together to hear more about growth opportunities across the sector which could help to achieve the £51.2bn expectation.

The Boardroom Briefing will see peers and experts share policy, economic and investor perspectives for the year ahead. Speakers such as Defra’s chief plant health officer, Professor Nicola Spence, and Ed Stannard, executive director of Parks for London, are amongst the first wave of speakers to be announced.

The event takes place on 14 January in London. More information can be found on the here.