Defra consults on Local Nature Recovery Strategies

In April 2023 the government published the LNRS consultation response, alongside the regulations and statutory guidance for responsible authorities.

The feedback highlighted that LNRS need to be as open and collaborative as possible and how stakeholder consultation is vital when developing the strategies. The regulation and guidance reflect this feedback.

Regulations

There are four key features of the regulations:

• The creation of supporting authorities – alongside responsible authorities, supporting authorities will also play a key role, the regulation outlines how they will work together to create collaborative LNRS.
• The requirements for wider engagement – responsible authorities are required to bring in a range of stakeholders and their views into the LNRS preparation including online information and public consultation. It is not a requirement to engage with all relevant landowners and managers prior to public consultation but is strongly encouraged.
• The publication and review requirements – the LNRS must be published by the responsible authority and provided to Defra. Reviews of the strategies will be announced by the Secretary of State every 3-10 years.
• Dispute resolution – how to resolve disagreements between responsible authorities and supporting authorities.

Statutory guidance

The statutory guidance outlines the steps responsible authorities should follow when creating the strategy and what it should include. The guidance provides responsible authorities with:

• A clear process to follow when preparing and engaging with stakeholders.
• Information about how to use existing plans and strategies to inform the LNRS.
• Clarity about what areas of importance should be included in the Local Habitat Map.
• Help to focus on local opportunities that could contribute to national targets.
• Information to ensure the strategy is practical and deliverable.

The government, with support from the NFU, has also created non-statutory guidance for responsible authorities which outlines the best practice and importance of engaging with landowners and farmers in the preparation and subsequent delivery of LNRS.

A LNRS data viewer has also been created by Defra to assist in the preparation of the Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

This consultation has now closed.

The NFU has responded to Defra’s consultation on the development of Local Nature Recovery
Strategies.

We believe that LNRS must be developed in consultation with land management from the very
beginning of the process to ensure they’re an accurate representation of what is on the ground, or what
could be achieved.

Given farm businesses will find themselves falling into different LNRS areas it is important that the LNRS have consistent structures to make them accessible and compatible across LNRS boundaries.

It is fundamental that there is a simple mechanism to challenge inaccuracies of any LNRS, particularly
where it is used to direct funding with ELMs (Environmental Land Management schemes).

The content of LNRS must be based on sound scientific evidence with local input. The LNRS should not be
restrictive in its effects, for example the NFU urges that planning decisions should not be stifled due to
the LNRS, and ELMs funding should be open to land managers despite priority actions highlighted in the LNRS.

The government has launched a consultation on how LNRS should be prepared and what should be included.

The LNRS are laid out in the Environment Bill as an approach for delivering national environmental objectives on local and regional scales, through mapping and prioritising areas of action for natures recovery.

The primary function of LNRS is to highlight opportunities to drive action from Biodiversity Net
Gain. It is not entirely clear how LNRS will interact with other funding initiatives being developed such
as ELMS, though it is likely the LNRS will be far reaching in terms of their influence and therefore this
is an important consultation.