Local Nature Recovery Strategy update for the South West

Local Nature Recovery Strategies 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 of these schemes via our enews and social media.

Getting ready

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.

County-by-county at a glance

Cornwall

Currently reviewing the draft LNRS Strategy and maps following a series of drop-in sessions when the public and businesses were able to comment. They have also carried out a wider public survey. The survey data and drop-in data is now being analysed. Cornwall Council see the LNRS as a blueprint for nature recovery across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly that will help prioritise where and how to invest and take action in the short-term. In so doing, it will be a crucial delivery plan for the long-term ambitions of their Environmental Growth Strategy, helping to guide planning & development, agri-environment funding, nature-based solutions and investment. Cornwall Council will publish its Local Nature Recovery Strategy in Spring 2025.

Devon

There is an internal target for a draft LNRS to be finished by the end of December with consultation running for 28 days in January. Text for a more in-depth website is nearing its final draft but, as of the end of September, mapping work for the LNRS was behind schedule. The LNRS as presented to the public will include details of actions for key habitats and species as well as the statutory requirement of mapping areas deemed to be of existing and potential high value for nature.

Encouragingly, a draft text we have seen specifically acknowledges the importance of food security and “support” for farmers including grant funding (albeit through national schemes).

Mark Burton sits for the CLA on the Devon LNRS Farming Working Group. He has used this position to educate policymakers on the importance of conventional arable farming, among other matters.

Dorset

We have seen strong engagement from Dorset from very early in the drafting process, and there is CLA representation on the county’s steering group as well as its dedicated farming subcommittee. Because of this they have thus far seemingly been very receptive to the landowning sector’s concerns. We cannot yet say for certain that this apparent concern has translated directly into the strategy, but their engagement at this stage has been diligent and as positive as is possible given those matters relating to the LNRS which remain outside local authority control. A draft ready for consultation is set to be shared with the steering group in early November, and will likely have been circulated to members by the time of this article’s release.

Dorset Council have also shared a particularly useful article on how they see the LNRS interacting with the planning system: How the Dorset local nature recovery strategy will work with planning policy - Dorset Council. In their view the LNRS factors into the “planning balance” but is not a “constraint or designation”. Note that while BCP Council, who also fall within the LNRS, are mentioned repeatedly in the article, it is posted on Dorset Council’s website and so it is unclear of BCP shares the views expressed therein.

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire County Council view the LNRS as a strategy which will inform local planning processes . It is intended that it will describe biodiversity priorities, potential measures to achieve these and areas that are, or could become, of particular ecological importance – this will create a Local Habitat Map. There has been some landowner / manager engagement to date and an on-line survey was run in autumn of 2023. A draft strategy is being developed from the results. This will go to consultation in late 2024/ early 2025

Somerset

Somerset Council is still working on the draft LNRS, mapping opportunity areas in Somerset that could be used for future nature improvement projects to give nature the best chance for recovery. They have had two farmer focus workshops and will be holding two further sessions in December prior to putting the draft LNRS to consultation. They have also carried out a public survey which ended in May. The data from this is being collated. Somerset Council aims to publish the Somerset Local Nature Recovery Strategy in Spring 2025.

Wiltshire and Swindon

The LNRS is at a “pre-consultation” phase. A survey has been open but engagement from landowners was quite limited, so further engagement is sought. Alison Levy, LNRS Officer, has been invited to attend our upcoming Wiltshire branch committee for this purpose. Mapping of potentially high value areas has in this instance been via an algorithm, which has considered the easiest means by which different existing habitats could be connected. This draft map is available for viewing here: Wiltshire LNRS Web App, alongside an explanatory text here: LNRS Measures. The measures text represents the format the strategy as published online will take, although many more species and habitat types are forthcoming.

West of England

West of England LNRS is one of the most advanced in England and have involved land owners and managers throughout, launching at the beginning of November. They recognised the importance of farmers and landowners in the delivery of the strategy and have developed a toolkit to assist them in identifying areas of potential for their land and businesses..

CLA support

Your regional advisers will continue to represent landowners throughout the LNRS process, identifying possible opportunities and concerns as the details are finalised. If, following this update you have any questions or concerns, please contact us on 01249 599059 or email Mark Burton or Duncan Anderson-Margetts.