Local Nature Recovery Strategy for North Northamptonshire

Overview

What is the Local Nature Recovery Strategy?

The draft North Northamptonshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is about restoring and enhancing biodiversity across the area. There is a focus on protecting and restoring key habitats and important local native species. The draft strategy links green spaces to improve wildlife movement and strengthen the area’s resilience to climate change.

The delivery of the LNRS will rely on collaboration between local authorities, environmental organisations, landowners and the community. The draft strategy provides a framework for guiding conservation efforts to create a thriving, sustainable landscape that we will all benefit from.

Each strategy must:

• Agree priorities for nature’s recovery
• Map the most valuable existing areas for nature
• Map specific proposals for creating or improving habitat for nature and wider environmental goals

Why are we creating a draft strategy?

This strategy is a statutory requirement through the Environment Act 2021. We have worked closely with stakeholders in the development of the draft strategy to ensure that voices are heard and that priorities of different groups have been included, where possible. All of England will eventually be covered by a strategy to ensure that we are all playing a part in delivering the Government’s 25 year Environment Plan.

The draft strategy is made up of a written document and also a mapping portal to show where some of the actions identified in the written document could take place. We are consulting on both of these aspects. 

More information about the Local Nature Recovery Strategy can be found on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy page of the council website. You can also view supporting documents including Delivery Options (how you can support nature recovery), case studies, mapping methodology and species methodology.

What the LNRS isn’t

The LNRS is a guidance document which will help support other groups to deliver nature recovery. The main part of the strategy is to provide land owners with options for what they could do on their land – be it a farmer, public body or an individual. It isn’t telling people what to do, or changing what land is designated for, it can be used to inform decision making and potential options.

Locations have been identified where nature recovery could best take place, however that isn’t to say that other uses could not take place on this land when weighed up against other considerations. The design of a site, be it for development, farm management or forestry planning can take into account the wider natural environment benefits of an area to inform the site design and the wider benefits of an area. Being identified within this document does not offer protection for a site, nor guarantee funding. We will identify funding streams in the LNRS Delivery Options document when they become available.

We are asking for your views

We want to ask your views on the content of the draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy document, on issues such as the character areas, the vision and the priorities that have been set out. How deliverable are the actions that have been suggested? What else would support you in making decisions for nature recovery?

You can access our survey through the link below. You can also send comments via email to: naturerecovery@northnorthants.gov.uk.

We are also seeking views on where some of these practical actions have been mapped. The mapping portal contains the potential locations where some elements of the LNRS could take place and allows you to see where these are, alongside the character areas and also areas that are already of importance for biodiversity. Here you can comment on specific areas of North Northamptonshire. Go to mapping portal, There is also a video to show how to navigate the mapping portal.

The consultation closes at 23.59 on Monday 9 December 2024.

For information about how consultation and engagement responses are managed, please see the consultation and engagement privacy notice.