Local Nature Recovery Strategies Update
Local Nature Recovery Strategies are to be an integral part of the Government’s commitment to environmental enhancement and improvement. They will identify areas which are already important for nature and those which have most potential for enhancement, rather like a Local Plan for nature.
On 29th June 2023 Defra published a map showing all 48 of the proposed Local Nature Recovery Strategy areas alongside the name of the responsible authority for each area. For the most part these follow county boundaries and the responsible authority is usually the County Council, Unitary Authority or Combined Authority. The map and list can be found at
Defra has also published a Local Nature Recovery Strategies policy paper which sets out:
What local nature recovery strategies are and why they are needed
What they will look like
How they will be prepared
Who can be involved with preparing them
How they will be delivered
When they will be reviewed and updated
The paper can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-nature-recovery-strategies/local-nature-recovery-strategies
LNRSs are intended to help to drive investment in nature to the locations where it will make the most difference, including investment in the form of Biodiversity Net Gain offsets. Where landowners wish to create habitat banks to supply Biodiversity Units to developers, the BUs created will have a greater value if they are aligned to the LNRS.
The Government expects responsible authorities to develop their LNRSs over the next 12 to 18 months and envisages that most will be in place by March 2025. Even with the extra funding promised (around £14 million over the next 2 years), this looks ambitious given the work that will be involved in preparing a written statement of biodiversity priorities and a local habitat map, plus the need to consult with interested parties, including farmers, landowners and land managers as well as Government bodies, conservation charities and local communities. In 2020-21 Defra ran a LNRS pilot with five authorities: Buckinghamshire Council, Cornwall Council, Cumbria County Council, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Northumberland County Council. Given the work that they have already done, these five may be among the first to complete and adopt their LNRS.
Landowners and land managers may wish to feed into the consultation process for the LNRSs in their area and make representations on the draft strategy.
30th June 2023