Local Nature Recovery Strategy update for the South East

As the autumn approaches, it feels like a good time to provide members with a further update on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy work that has been going on across the South East region.

If you’re not fully up to speed on the LNRS then here is a link to a webinar we held for members, In brief, Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are currently in development across England on a county-by-county basis and are intended to identify opportunities for nature restoration which will be made available to planners and promoters on both paper and plans.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) will also contribute towards halting the decline in nature through the creation of new nature friendly habitats and to this end, land mapped within an LNRS will benefit from a more lucrative multiplier meaning landowners can deliver more BNG units on a lesser area.

The CLA has been engaging via stakeholder groups on the LNRS in each county since last year. As well as attending regular stakeholder meetings and workshops to make sure that landowner viewpoints are represented, we have also shared details via our enews and social media on stakeholder engagement sessions/workshops being held in each county.

These events mainly took place in the first half of the year and it would be fair to say that some counties were more successful at getting farmers/landowners in the room than others.

The reason for publishing this blog now, is to alert members to the fact that many county LNRS teams are getting ready to consult on their proposed nature recovery strategy, having now drafted and refined this following feedback from the engagement sessions/workshops which took place earlier this year.

This may therefore be your last chance to input on the LNRS in your county before it gets adopted, and so we would encourage all members with land to at least take a look at (and ideally respond to) any LNRS consultations that apply. Bearing in mind if you farm across a county border there may be more than one strategy you need to keep an eye on.

You may find your holding is currently being considered as an area of importance for nature recovery, and if you disagree with this, or would rather your holding were excluded from the plans, you need to let the LNRS team in your area know sooner rather than later.

Berkshire – The LNRS is well underway with a public consultation planned from November with the hope of the strategy being finalised and in place by June 2025. The Berkshire LNRS website is kept up to date and has lots of further information/ resources on it.

Buckinghamshire – Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes took part in an LNRS pilot in 2021, however they are going through the process again and are currently collating materials and feedback from their earlier workshops. They hope to launch a public consultation sometime between December 2024 and March 2025. Further details on this county LNRS can be found here.

Hampshire – Hampshire LNRS is progressing at pace with a draft strategy due imminently. Public consultation will begin after all of the supporting authorities have signed off the draft – expected to be a 6-week consultation from mid-November onwards. More information is available from the LNRS webpage.

IOW – Otherwise known as Island Nature , the draft strategy is almost complete, with lots of information already visible in the map browser. There have been over 1,000 comments relating to priorities and measures and the LNRS team is currently converting these into tangible opportunities that can be mapped. Following a presentation scheduled with Defra in November there will be a public consultation on the draft – so sign up for updates on the website.

Kent – The LNRS in Kent and Medway, known locally as ‘Making Space for Nature’, is quite ambitious in what it hopes to achieve. It’s well stocked and regularly updated website can be found here. On this website, you will find the draft LNRS priorities and plans that were published for comments in July/August and you can provide your email asking to be kept informed of updates. The public consultation is currently planned to begin January 2025.

Oxfordshire – Oxfordshire, despite hosting their workshops a little later than some other counties, is slightly ahead of the curve in hoping to launch their consultation in mid-October. Further details of the LNRS in this county can be found here.

Surrey – Surrey Nature Recovery is in the process of collating all their findings from the widespread public engagement and finalising the short list of priorities for nature. This is anticipated to take until early January when it will be presented to Surrey County Council Cabinet for approval before a public consultation in February and March 2025. More information can be found here There is still time to drop a pin on the interactive map or share your ideas for nature.

Sussex – Sussex Nature Recovery is another well-advanced strategy with masses of engagement with landowners, organisations, communities and members of the public over the summer resulting in over 1,800 responses to a survey and an interactive map showing suggestions made. Engagement will continue well into the autumn, so check for opportunities to engage either as part of a cluster, at ploughing matches or individually. As with many of the other strategies, work is underway with prioritisation and translating feedback with a public consultation due in the winter.

Your regional CLA advisers will continue to represent landowners in the final phases of the LNRS process, identifying possible opportunities and concerns as the details are finalised.

If, following this update you have any questions or concerns, please do contact the regional advice team as we would be happy to discuss the LNRS in your area with you further.

Call 01264 358 195 or email rosie.saltcrockford@cla.org.uk or lucy.charman@cla.org.uk