FAQs – Public Authorities and Planning
How are Kent’s planning authorities involved in the development of the LNRS?
The LNRS Regulations identify the county’s district and borough councils, Medway Council and Natural England as Supporting Authorities for the LNRS. Responsible Authorities must engage Supporting Authorities when preparing their LNRS. The Responsible Authority must: take reasonable steps to involve supporting authorities; share information with them; have regard to their opinions; seek agreement to consult; and seek agreement to publish.
How will the LNRS affect public authorities?
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 minimum 10% uplift in biodiversity. Whilst in some cases BNG will be delivered onsite as a designed component of new developments, it is anticipated that a proportion will be sought offsite, and the LNRS will assist in identifying where the most biodiversity gains can meaningfully be achieved through nature recovery actions
This will come from the integration of local nature recovery strategies into an updated National Planning Framework Policy, so that planning decisions are able to consider the areas where nature recovery has the greatest potential. Guidelines will be published to offer the necessary guidance to local authorities, on how to comply with this new duty.
How will the LNRS work with Local Plans?
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.
Detailed guidance from DEFRA is still forthcoming. It is expected that Local Plans will be dictated by the updated National Planning Policy Framework, which in turn will be informed by the LNRS with regards to how planning authorities fulfil biodiversity requirements.