Local Nature Recovery Strategies
The Environment Bill makes provision for the creation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) which are intended to drive better planning for nature restoration and recovery at a local level, within a national framework for England. These Strategies have the potential to become widely used tools for land use decision-making by local authorities, NGOs and others, so it is important that landowners understand what they are and how to get involved in producing them.
What are Local Nature Recovery Strategies?
A LNRS will comprise:
a) A statement of biodiversity priorities, including a description of the existing biodiversity and any opportunities for recovering or enhancing it; the local priorities for recovering or enhancing biodiversity; and identifying potential measures to do so.
b) A local habitat map showing national and local conservation sites and nature reserves, other sites that are of particular importance for biodiversity, sites that could become of particular importance for biodiversity with a change in management and areas where the recovery or enhancement of biodiversity could make a particular contribution to the wider environment.
How will the LNRS be used?
The LNRS may be used by local authorities and others for a range of purposes, including
• To identify areas where off-site biodiversity offsetting is encouraged; the biodiversity metric will provide a 15% uplift on units generated in those areas.
• To provide an evidence base for local planning authorities in the preparation of their Local Plans.
• To identify areas suitable for nature-based solutions such as those for flood management and carbon sequestration.
• To identify locations and prioritise activities which may be eligible for funding under future schemes, including the proposed Local Nature Recovery Scheme and Landscape Recovery Scheme.
Who writes the LNRS for my area?
Each LNRS will be prepared by a “responsible authority” which will be appointed to lead the process, prepare and publish the LNRS for its area and review and republish it from time to time. The responsible authority may be the local authority, a National Park Authority, the Broads Authority, an elected mayor, or Natural England.
There will be about 50 Strategies in total, many of which will follow county boundaries. Together they will cover the entirety of England without overlaps or gaps and the precise areas will be announced after the Environment Bill receives Royal Assent.
Why does this matter to me?
Local Nature Recovery Strategies have the potential to become widely used tools for decision-making on land use by local authorities, NGOs and others. That could include, for example, decisions on
- Zoning land for development or protection within Local Plans
- Identifying areas which might become candidate sites for designation
- Targeting funding for nature restoration or improvement schemes
As and when local authorities start work on preparing their LNRS, it is therefore very important that landowners are closely involved in order to understand what is happening and to have their say in which priorities are identified in their local Strategy.
In some cases, landowners may wish to engage in the process in order to pursue their own nature restoration projects, either in collaboration with others or alone. There may be other landowners who have concerns about privacy, security or business interests which mean that they do not want their land included in the maps of areas of potential for biodiversity improvement. In either case, active participation in the process will be required in order to ensure that their voices are heard.
When will the LNRS process start in my area?
Defra launched a consultation on Local Nature Recovery Strategies on 10th August 2021 with a closing date for responses of 2nd November. The consultation webpage is at
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/land-use/local-nature-recovery-strategies/
The consultation seeks views on the procedure to be followed in preparing a LNRS and the content of the detailed guidance which will support the process. Once it closes, Defra will have to analyse the feedback and draft the new Regulations and guidance which are provided for in the Environment Bill. It is likely to be later in 2022 before we see the next steps.
However, some areas are already one step ahead. Five pilot projects were run in 2020 in Cornwall, Cumbria, Buckinghamshire, Greater Manchester and Northumberland in order to test the process of preparing a LNRS and the lessons learned through these pilots will be incorporated into the consultation feedback. These areas will be well-placed to start work on the full LNRS once the government gives the go-ahead. Other areas make take longer to start the process, depending on local priorities.
Tellus Natural Capital can assist in the preparation and submission of a response to the consultation on behalf of individual landowners or groups with similar interests. As and when local authorities start work on preparing their Strategies, we will be able to assist landowners in engaging in the process. Please contact Kate Russell at kate@tellusnatcap.com for an initial discussion.