FAQs – An Overview of the LNRS
What is an LNRS?
Local Nature Recovery Strategies have been created under the 2021 Environment Act and are a system of spatial strategies for nature and environmental improvement that will underpin England’s Nature Recovery Network. The Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Kent and Medway will be one of 48 in total – together these will cover the whole of England, with no gaps or overlaps, to deliver the government’s commitment to ending the decline of nature and supporting its recovery. Importantly, the Strategy will be locally led, and developed collaboratively through engagement with a wide breadth of stakeholders, including government agencies, local planning authorities, landowners, charities and non-governmental organisations, community groups, utilities, transport, recreation & access, health, education, businesses and developer sector representatives, to establish shared priorities for nature recovery and wider environmental goals.
What do we mean by Nature Recovery?
Nature recovery has not been specifically defined by the Environment Act or the Local Nature Recovery Strategy regulations or statutory guidance. However, the Government’s ambitions in respect of nature gives us a broad indication of what nature recovery is expected to deliver, with the Environmental Improvement Plan targets and commitments stating:
- By 2030, halt the decline in species abundance
- By 2042, increase species abundance so it is greater than 2022 and at least 10% greater in 2030.
- By 2042, restore or create in excess of 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats outside protected sites.
- By 2042, improve GB Red List Index for species extinction compared to 2022 levels.
- By 2050, increase tree canopy and woodland cover to 16.5% of total land area.
- By 2042, ensure that 70% of designated features in Marine Protected Areas are in favourable condition, with the remainder in recovering condition.
(source – Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) )
However, nature recovery also has temporal considerations – what is our baseline, the point at which we are starting recovery from? Are we trying to recover a state of nature that existed in the past, or should we be considering the future and aiming towards a state that is resilient to unpredictable influences such as climate change and increased urbanisation?
We anticipate that action to recover nature in Kent and Medway will include:
- Habitat creation (establishing a habitat where it is currently not present.
- Habitat extension (increasing the extent of habitat where it is currently present)
- Habitat management (activity with the express aim of improving, enhancing or preserving certain features)
- Habitat restoration (promoting the recovery of an ecosystem from a degraded state)
- Species recovery (action to stop or reverse the decline of a species)
- Species reintroduction (the translocation of a species within its natural range, to areas from which it has been lost)
- Species control (action to address invasive and/or non-native species)
In order for us to create a meaningful strategy we must explore this question in depth, and with integrity. We have therefore made this a point of engagement amongst our stakeholders, initially through a survey – we will be using this, alongside discussions with other partners and stakeholders, to inform what nature recovery will mean for Kent and Medway. The priorities that the project establishes for nature recovery across the county will likely define what nature recovery looks like and means.
Reference: Favourable Conservation Status Definitions – TIN180 (naturalengland.org.uk)
How does the LNRS differ from biodiversity strategies that have come before this one?
You may be aware that a great deal of work has already taken place in Kent, through the Kent Biodiversity Strategy (KBS), developed collaboratively and published in 2020 by the Kent Nature Partnership (and previous Biodiversity Action Plans that went before). Whilst this work was valuable in steering biodiversity action and coordinating efforts, it had no statutory footing and therefore, arguably, minimal influence over some of the activities which were having the most notable impacts on our wildlife and habitats.
As determined by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill amendments from September 2023, Local Nature Recovery Strategies now have a statutory role in influencing all tiers of planning, with the express requirement that strategic development, minerals and waste, neighbourhood and local plans must all take account of any local nature recovery strategy that relates to all or part of the local planning authority’s area.
Furthermore, the LNRS is not a policy related initiative – it is a requirement of the Environment Act, 2021. Therefore, the strategy is less likely to be undermined or usurped by a change in policy direction or governance.
Unlike previous biodiversity plans, this is the first time an environmental strategy will require every part of England to coordinate their efforts to create a joined-up strategy network, with the intention of reaping the maximum benefits for nature recovery in doing so. The LNRS will also be developed using a thoroughly bottom-up approach, influenced and informed by extensive and diverse stakeholder engagement.
A key priority of the strategy is for it to be practical and deliverable. Central to this will be the involvement of delivery partners in its development. But also, the LNRS will guide and inform the very funding streams and investment central to delivery of nature recovery. The LNRS will directly relate to the strategic significance multiplier in the biodiversity net gain metric. And the priorities and mapped areas of the strategy will influence environmental land management schemes, and other government grant, allocations. It also anticipated that the LNRS will be used by other funding bodies in their assessment of funding bids.
What existing databases are being used for mapping?
Defra have provided all Responsible Authorities with a national dataset of evidence and information to inform the development of the LNRS.
In Kent and Medway, we’re fortunate to have a strong evidence base to enhance the national dataset provided for the development of the Strategy – this includes the State of Nature Report, Kent Biodiversity Strategy and Kent Habitat Survey. We also have all the records held and managed by the Kent & Medway Biological Records Centre and those collected by the wealth of species recording groups in the county and the Kent Field Club; plus the numerous citizen science initiatives. And there is further data and expertise in the county that can strengthen and inform this work, so we will be looking for input from all partners and stakeholders.
Who is the responsible authority for developing the LNRS for Kent and Medway?
Kent County Council are the assigned Responsible Authority for the LNRS for Kent and Medway. Natural England and all the strategy area’s local planning authorities are Supporting Authorities for the LNRS. The Forestry Commission and Environment Agency also have dedicated officers supporting the LNRS development process.
The process also has a governance structure, in the form of a board, a delivery group, and various technical advisory groups – you can read more about the governance of the LNRS for Kent and Medway on this website.
What will the LNRS look like in action?
The LNRS will provide a set of agreed priorities for nature recovery, with measures to deliver these. As a spatially framed strategy for nature, it will focus action to where its most needed and/or where it will deliver the greatest benefits.
It will do this through:
Planning: The LNRS will have a statutory role in influencing all tiers of planning, with the express requirement that strategic development, minerals and waste, neighbourhood and local plans must all take account of any local nature recovery strategy that relates to all or part of the local planning authority’s area.
Development management: The LNRS will highlight where developers can most effectively fulfil their mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain duties from Jan 2024, which requires them to deliver a 10% uplift in biodiversity. Whilst in some cases, BNG will be delivered onsite as a designed component of new developments, a large proportion will be better sought offsite, and the LNRS will pinpoint where the most biodiversity gains can meaningfully be achieved through nature recovery actions.
Nature-based solutions: Nature-based solutions (NbS) are where we work with nature to address societal challenges – such as restoring saltmarshes to sequester carbon, building leaky dams or to regulate water flow and manage flooding in times of increased rainfall, or planting trees in urban environments to reduce ambient temperatures and improve air quality. The LNRS aims to identify where nature recovery action can also deliver NbS to the greatest benefit of the county.
How will we monitor and evaluate the success of the LNRS at the point it is published?
Following publication, DEFRA will be appointing evaluation specialists to support with establishing how success is measured . The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will announce when all local nature recovery strategies across England must be reviewed. Responsible authorities will then publish updated strategies. This process must happen every 3 to 10 years. Reviewing and publishing strategies is a core part of the responsible authority role, which government has committed to fund. It is essential for enabling local nature recovery strategies to play their important role in driving nature’s recovery. These reviews will be issued by the Secretary of State with 4 months’ notice, and occur simultaneously across the country, in order to ensure that LNRS efforts remain coordinated.
Source: Nature recovery frequently asked questions (FAQs) – January 2023 | Local Government Association
How does the council justify spending money of the development of the LNRS given the current pressure on budgets?
The government has committed to funding any new burdens for responsibilities mandated under the Environment Act 2021. The development of this first iteration of the LNRS is 100% funded through a government S31 grant to Kent County Council, who are preparing the Strategy for Kent and Medway.
What weight/strength will there be to protect existing – or enhance potentially important – habitat against significant housing development?
The LNRS will have a statutory role in influencing all tiers of planning, with the express requirement that strategic development, minerals and waste, neighbourhood and local plans must all take account of any local nature recovery strategy that relates to all or part of the local planning authority’s area.
The LNRS will also highlight where developers can most effectively fulfil their mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain duties from Jan 2024, which requires them to deliver a 10% uplift in biodiversity. Whilst in some cases, BNG will be delivered onsite as a designed component of new developments, a large proportion will be better sought offsite, and the LNRS will pinpoint where the most biodiversity gains can meaningfully be achieved through nature recovery actions.
As a result, the LNRS will mean that losses and impacts are directed away from the county’s most valuable assets and that action and investment is directed to areas of greatest need and/or benefit.