At spring 2015, the NIAs had also added a further 13,500 acres beyond the initial 2012 areas, as well as a total of 335 miles of new footpaths for public access.
The NIAs form part of the UK Government's response to Sir John Lawton's 2010 report "Making Space for Nature".
[1] They were then implemented via the Natural Environment White Paper, the first natural environment government White Paper in 20 years.
In October 2011 a competition was launched by DEFRA to select twelve pilot sites for NIAs, and in response seventy-six entries were made.
[2] On 27 February 2012 the final list of 12 Nature Improvement Areas was announced.