How many parks and green spaces are in Essex? 533 public parks
Essex has 533 public parks among 3,864 green space sites. Green space covers 2.1% of the area: about 52 m² per resident, or 7.3 football pitches for every 1,000 people. More green space per resident than 75% of areas in England and Wales, where the typical area has 31 m².
- Green space per resident
- 52 m²
- More green space than
- 75% of areas
- Football pitches per 1,000 people
- 7.3
Public green space from OS Open Greenspace; golf courses are listed but not counted. Per resident uses Census 2021 population. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. How we calculate this
All house prices in EssexWhat are the largest parks in Essex?
Lee Valley Country Park is the largest public park in Essex, at 992 hectares. These are the 25 largest of 177 named public parks.
| Park | Size |
|---|---|
| Lee Valley Country Park | 992 hectares |
| Hatfield Forest | 371 hectares |
| Hadleigh Castle | 234 hectares |
| Thorndon Country Park | 224 hectares |
| Hylands Park | 207 hectares |
| Marsh Farm Country Park | 176 hectares |
| Weald Country Park | 175 hectares |
| High Woods Country Park | 154 hectares |
| Gunpowder Park | 87.7 hectares |
| Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park | 80.3 hectares |
| Norsey Wood | 76.2 hectares |
| Garden Hyde Hall | 72.2 hectares |
| Gosbecks Archaeological Park | 56.8 hectares |
| Gloucester Park | 50.4 hectares |
| Galleywood Common | 45.1 hectares |
| Wat Tyler Country Park | 43.9 hectares |
| Holland Haven | 42.9 hectares |
| Great Notley Country Park | 39.6 hectares |
| Town Park | 39.1 hectares |
| Martin's Farm Country Park | 37.4 hectares |
| Hutton Country Park | 34.9 hectares |
| Harlow Common | 33.2 hectares |
| Riverside Park | 26.8 hectares |
| Warley Country Park | 26 hectares |
| Jean McAlpine Park | 25.9 hectares |
What kinds of green space are there in Essex?
Public parks and gardens cover the most ground in Essex: 46 km². Golf courses are shown but left out of the green space total, because most need a membership.
| Type | Area |
|---|---|
| Public parks and gardens | 46 km² · 533 sites |
| Playing fields | 17 km² · 577 sites |
| Other sports facilities | 773 hectares · 308 sites |
| Allotments and community growing spaces | 280 hectares · 358 sites |
| Churchyards and religious grounds | 257 hectares · 548 sites |
| Cemeteries | 213 hectares · 134 sites |
| Play spaces | 106 hectares · 1,044 sites |
| Bowling greens | 33.8 hectares · 93 sites |
| Tennis courts | 31.3 hectares · 195 sites |
| Golf coursesNot counted | 31 km² · 74 sites |
Does Essex have a lot of green space?
A bit more than most areas. Essex has 52 m² of green space per resident, against 31 m² in the typical area of England and Wales and 38 m² across England. More green space per resident than 75% of areas in England and Wales.
| Area | Per resident |
|---|---|
| EssexThis area | 52 m² per resident |
| England | 38 m² per resident |
| Typical area in England and Wales | 31 m² per resident |
A full-size football pitch is about 7,140 m². 52 m² for every resident adds up to 7.3 football pitches of parks, playing fields and other public green space for every 1,000 people.
High means the second-highest fifth of areas in England and Wales. The bands split every area we cover into fifths by green space per resident, from Very Low to Very High.
Which parts of Essex have the most green space?
Stow Maries has the most green space per resident of the 45 areas of Essex, at about 1,237 m² per resident. The labels place each area among every area in England and Wales, in fifths from Very Low to Very High.
| Area | Per resident |
|---|---|
| Stow MariesVery High | 1,237 m² per resident |
| AsheldhamVery High | 777 m² per resident |
| Little TothamVery High | 206 m² per resident |
| HazeleighVery High | 130 m² per resident |
| LangfordVery High | 110 m² per resident |
| Epping ForestVery High | 103 m² per resident |
| BrentwoodVery High | 102 m² per resident |
| UttlesfordVery High | 72 m² per resident |
| Great BraxtedVery High | 72 m² per resident |
| Great TothamVery High | 67 m² per resident |
| Tolleshunt KnightsVery High | 62 m² per resident |
| ChelmsfordHigh | 60 m² per resident |
| Burnham-on-CrouchHigh | 58 m² per resident |
| TillinghamHigh | 56 m² per resident |
| Castle PointHigh | 48 m² per resident |
| Woodham MortimerHigh | 47 m² per resident |
| Tolleshunt D'ArcyHigh | 43 m² per resident |
| DengieHigh | 42 m² per resident |
| ColchesterHigh | 42 m² per resident |
| HarlowHigh | 42 m² per resident |
| AlthorneHigh | 39 m² per resident |
| Bradwell-on-SeaHigh | 39 m² per resident |
| Woodham WalterHigh | 37 m² per resident |
| BasildonHigh | 37 m² per resident |
| Wickham BishopsTypical | 36 m² per resident |
| MaldonTypical | 36 m² per resident |
| RochfordTypical | 36 m² per resident |
| TendringTypical | 33 m² per resident |
| HeybridgeTypical | 33 m² per resident |
| Tolleshunt MajorTypical | 32 m² per resident |
| GoldhangerTypical | 31 m² per resident |
| BraintreeTypical | 31 m² per resident |
| SteepleTypical | 30 m² per resident |
| TollesburyTypical | 29 m² per resident |
| PurleighTypical | 27 m² per resident |
| MaylandTypical | 26 m² per resident |
| LatchingdonTypical | 25 m² per resident |
| SouthminsterLow | 22 m² per resident |
| UltingLow | 18 m² per resident |
| Cold NortonLow | 16 m² per resident |
| St. LawrenceVery Low | 13 m² per resident |
| North FambridgeVery Low | 12 m² per resident |
| Little BraxtedVery Low | 9 m² per resident |
| MundonVery Low | 6 m² per resident |
| Heybridge BasinVery Low | 2 m² per resident |
What else do people ask about Essex?
More quick answers on house prices, sales, areas and green space in Essex.
- What is the average house price in Essex?
- When did average house prices in Essex reach their peak?
- How many properties are being sold in Essex?
- What type of properties are sold in Essex?
- What price range do most homes sell for in Essex?
- What is the most expensive (and cheapest) area of Essex?
- How do Essex house prices compare with another area?
Where does this data come from?
Price information is from HM Land Registry, location boundaries are from OpenStreetMap, and households and population are from Nomis Census 2021 postcode estimates (21 March 2021). Parks and green space are from OS Open Greenspace. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Last updated 6 October 2026 at 21:54 with the latest Land Registry data (August 2026). The Essex dataset covers 56,414 postcodes.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.