Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are being developed for each county of England and Shropshire Council has been asked by the UK Government to work closely with Telford & Wrekin Council and Natural England to develop a LNRS for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

The purpose of the LNRS is to help target effort and funds in the places where actions can have the most benefit for nature and where there is most interest from landowners. They will also help identify the nature recovery priorities for areas within the strategy, for example, at a particular location would a new woodland, wildflower meadow or wetland have the greatest impact for our county’s wildlife.

This statutory strategy (a legal requirement of the Environment Act 2021) will prioritise where we should be aiming to create more nature rich areas and how we can help to connect up the many existing natural spaces with each other, allowing species of plants and animals to thrive and wildlife to move freely from one habitat to another.

Strategy development

As we develop the strategy, we are seeking input from landowners and farmers, nature organisations, town & parish councils and other interested parties, to make sure it’s relevant, fit for purpose and owned by the people who live and work here. The LNRS will be a plan for how to enhance nature in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin and will be made up of two elements (1) a map showing where the best sites are currently, and also where the best opportunities are to enhance nature; (2) a list of nature recovery priorities for the county.

Importantly, the LNRS will not require anyone to take specific action but instead will provide information to help with land management decisions.

Why does it matter to me?

Nature is in trouble, the State of Nature 2023 Report outlined significant declines in UK wildlife. There are some startling statistics in the report, wildlife in England has declined in abundance by 32% on average since 1970. This is mainly due to the impact of habitat loss, climate change, and unsustainable practices on wildlife. Some species, like the curlew, only have about a decade left before they go extinct in the county unless strategic and urgent action is taken.

For landowners, the LNRS has the potential to impact positively on rural businesses. For example, there will be a 15% uplift for landowners within the LNRS priority area when producing Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)* units for sale to developers. Additional links between LNRS priority areas and future sources of funding are expected, as is demonstrated by the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill which sets out a new Nature Restoration Levy which will use the LNRS to help target funds.

It is therefore important that landowners and other stakeholders are aware that this new statutory strategy is coming and take an interest in its development. There will be a public consultation in the summer to get feedback on the draft map and proposed actions, and we want to hear from people across the county. If you would like to be contacted directly at key points in the process, please email lnrs@shropshire.gov.uk.

* BNG is a planning policy requiring every developer to buy BNG units to ensure their development results in nature being 10% better than it did before the development.

Photo credit: Sarah Jameson

Ludlow Town Council is working on a Local Nature Recovery Strategy on our land as part of our Climate Action Plan.