Overview
Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) - the spatial strategies for nature mandated in the Environment Act 2021 - have the potential to be a powerful tool that will help restore our natural habitats and green spaces.But they can only do this effectively if they are properly integrated into local planning and spending decisions. As it stands, we are concerned that the duty described in the legislation to 'have regard to' LNRS in planning decisions will not give them the weight they merit at this critical time for our natural world. We are working to ensure the LNRS is given weight in the planning system in Oxfordshire - for example, by being made a binding part of Local Plans.For nature to recover, it can no longer be an afterthought but must be put at the heart of the decision-making process.
What we're doing
In early 2023, the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership proactively co-ordinated a letter from 21 local nature partnerships in the country to the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities to ask for a more robust role for LNRS in the planning system. We were pleased to be invited to meet and discuss this with the minister.
The OLNP chair Richard Benwell and manager Matt Whitney subsequently met with Rachel Maclean MP, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, to ask that the new Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) be made part of local development plans.
We continue to work with key partners in the sector to help develop this county's LNRS and make sure it is as robust as possible.
Related publications
Towards a nature-first neighbourhood plan
Neighbourhood plans can play an important role in protecting and restoring your local nature. Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership has created this document to help inform thinking about the types of policy that might be developed for a given Neighbourhood Plan (NP). It includes policy examples from existing neighbourhood plans, and guidance on the steps to take when developing a draft neighbourhood plan.
Oxfordshire Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) guiding principles
The Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership proposes that Oxfordshire's Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) adopt the principles the working group, which includes representatives from local authority planning departments, have developed for Biodiversity Net Gain implementation.
The intent of these principles is to ensure that Biodiversity Net Gain is implemented in a way that supports the spirit of the Environment Act 2021 and maximises Biodiversity Net Gain’s potential impact on nature recovery in Oxfordshire. They are designed to facilitate a harmonised approach across all local authority areas, recognising that some local variations may be inevitable and indeed beneficial. Our aspiration is that they will provide a common framework within which local authorities, developers, conservation bodies, farmers and landowners work together to protect and restore our county’s nature.
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