A landowner's five-step guide to Local Nature Recovery Strategies
If you’re a land manager in England, it’s time to look at LNRSs. Read our practical guide to learn about the opportunities, connect with delivery partners and help build nature recovery into your plans
Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are becoming increasingly visible and even made the main stage at the Labour Party Conference where Defra Secretary of State, Dame Angela Eagle, announced £26m of funding for LNRS delivery, providing three years of funding for each of the 48 LNRSs around England. This will be supported by a £1.92m ‘Enabling Nature Recovery’ budget held by Natural England that will be used to fund novel research and development to support nature recovery in local areas.
As LNRSs move into their ‘delivery stage’, you are likely to read more about them, hear more about them and you should consider building them into your business planning.
This article provides some background, why you should think more about them, and five simple steps to make them work for you.
The basics
So, what are LNRSs?
- Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a requirement under the Environment Act 2021
- There are 48 LNRS responsible authorities across England, based on county council or combined authority boundaries, so all areas are covered
- Almost all LNRSs have now been published – find yours here
- Each LNRS was developed locally. It includes a statement of biodiversity priorities and a local habitat map showing what can be done to support nature recovery, and where it will have greatest impact
- They will now be in place for several years – it is up to the Secretary of State to decide when they will be updated
- Each LNRS responsible authority now has delivery duties to embed the LNRSs into local authority decision making
LNRS delivery will be important for landowners
It is clear that LNRSs will become more important within local government with a requirement to ‘take account’ of the LNRS. They will increasingly influence strategic planning such as the upcoming Spatial Development Strategies, and Local Plans, Mineral Plans and Waste Plans. Other public bodies such as Network Rail, National Highways, Parish Councils must ‘have regard’ to LNRSs.
LNRSs are already having a direct influence on where nature recovery is prioritised, for example biodiversity net gain habitat banks are more valuable in LNRS priority areas. Over time, LNRSs might influence Defra targeting of Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme funding, and siting of mitigation through the Natural England Nature Restoration Fund.
For landowners with an interest in nature recovery and wider environmental delivery, it makes sense to understand the LNRS habitat maps, and engage with the LNRS team through the partnerships that are being set up. Many landowners are already using the LNRS as part of their business planning
What is the role of Responsible Authorities in delivering LNRSs?
Each LNRS Responsible Authority (RA) has been provided with funding to deliver the LNRS. This funding is mainly for delivery staff, which might be employed direct or subcontracted.
There are four key functions for that will be led by the Responsible Authorities for LNRS delivery:
Landowners and managers will be important project partners where their land is identified in the local habitat map, or where they have plans for new environmental projects. Farmer clusters will also be key, given the potential to deliver nature recovery projects at scale. Similarly, there may be a role for RAs to aggregate smaller projects in order to be attractive for private investment. An example of large-scale partnerships of organisations is Nature North – a pan-regional collaboration backed by over 50 organisations.
The Responsible Authorities can help develop existing and new projects that fit with the local priorities. They will be recording nature recovery activity to support tracking progress towards national targets, but this will also enable coordination and create a ‘shop window’ for potential funding in a local area.
Five simple steps for landowners
- First off, find your local LNRS - here
Identify which of England’s 48 LNRS areas your land falls within and find the strategy published by the relevant Responsible Authority - Look at where your land sits on the map
Check whether your holding is identified as somewhere where particular nature-recovery measures could make a valuable contribution. Treat the map as identifying opportunities, not requirements - Match the LNRS to your land and business
Consider which of the suggested priorities or measures make sense alongside farming, forestry, development or other land-management objectives. LNRSs are intended to identify potential measures and where they could have greatest impact - Talk to the people delivering it
Contact the Responsible Authority and relevant local partners to discuss what could work on your holding, particularly where action could connect with neighbouring land. LNRSs are explicitly designed as locally led, collaborative strategies - Follow the funding, not just the map
Before committing land, look for the right delivery mechanism and business case. That could include environmental land management schemes, Biodiversity Net Gain or other public/private environmental funding. LNRS identifies the opportunity; an appropriate agreement provides the incentive and terms for delivery
