Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a new way of prioritising nature needs on a more local and focused level. Find out more here.
2025 We are planning for habitat workshops in the New Year. We are planning a consultation draft to be published in the spring. We will consider all the responses to that and make any changes needed, before seeking final approval to publish from Natural England. A final LNRS is to be published at the end of the summer. 2024 We have held four steering group meetings in 2024 and the next one is in December. We have also formed a sub-group, meeting monthly. We have been working regionally with the three other LNRSs in the North East (South of Tyne and Wear, Durham, and Tees Valley) to make sure we are co-ordinated, especially cross-border, on the maps and data side of things. Similarly, we are linking with the two new Authorities in Cumbria to make sure our boundary is co-ordinated (Cumberland, Westmorland & Furness) and also mindful of the Scottish Borders Council. In March 2024, the North East Records Centre organised a north-east regional species conference, for the recording community. Together with the Environmental Records Centre we have worked on a "long list" of species, although the specides guidance is very different to the habitat guidance. The species longlists are available to download from their website (the marine species longlist is separate). We have been working on our "stage 1" map. (The LNRS guidance sets out five steps for us to follow; stage 1 and stage 5 are map stages). You can see this mapping here (opens in a new page). The first tile you will see there is the part that fulfills the statutory guidance about the LNRS. The second, third and fifth tiles are extra. The tile about conversation areas just explains how we are dividing up the geography to help with consultation, read on. In terms of "stage 3" of the LNRS process, we reviewed descriptions of the nature and biodiversity in the area that we wrote in early 2021, and updating that text. Our description of the biodiversity in the area is written using the National Character Areas (NCAs) as a way of dividing up the North of Tyne into similar landscapes. This document can be downloaded below as the "technical consultation". The consultation for that was in April and May 2024 and has now finished. We are held consultation events in the summer. The fourth tile in this map collection (here, opens in a new page) shows how we are dividing the North of Tyne up into seven areas to make these conversations practical. We produced A2 fold-out maps for each of the seven areas (scroll down to the section "A conversation about nature recovery" to see these electronically or to download) In autumn 2024: we are currently working on:
Defra published the statutory guidance in March 2023. The guidance details what responsible authorities should include in their LNRS. It builds on what is already required in the Environmental Act, covering some of the more technical aspects of LNRS preparation, and how LNRSs should be aligning with other plans and strategies. In June 2023 the 48 Responsible Authorities for England were announced. A paper went to July's 2023's cabinet meeting (11 July 2023) on this topic. The North of Tyne geography is Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside. We held two steering groups in 2023. The Steering Group is made up of members of Northumberland County Council, North Tyneside Council, Newcastle City Council, Natural England, Northumberland National Park Authority, the Northumberland Coast National Landscape, the North Pennines National Landscape, the Environment Agency, the Marine Nature Partnership, the Forestry Commission and the North of Tyne Combined Authority (which became the North East Combined Authority in May 2024). 2021 The Environment Act (2021) (on gov.uk). 2020-2021 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) ran five pilots in autumn and winter 2020-2021 in collaboration with Natural England and local partner organisations. The aim was to test how Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) could be created. Northumberland was one of the five pilots. Being involved at the initial pilot stage gave Northumberland a unique opportunity to work with partners, to develop this process and shape a local, landscape scale approach to developing LNRSs. It was more about testing the process, rather than producing an early LNRS.
During August and September 2024, we had a farmer survey open. We are very grateful to the farmers and landowners who let us know what they think by filling it in. We promoted it, with our partners, at various events, shows, and farmer meetings. This is a record of the events (pdf, opens in a new page). The survey is still open, if you would like to tell us what you think (opens in a new page). You can help us shape the future of our land and nature. Your voice matters! The survey is now open to communities and local groups, not just farmers and land managers. This is a chance to have your say on what matters to you about the wildlife and nature in your area. Including your improvement ideas and the challenges you face. We want the LNRS to reflect the views, priorities, experience, and knowledge of our local people. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts. In due course, we will publish here information about the headline findings from the survey. Currently, half the respondents from the August-September months are being followed up with 1:1 telephone interviews.
We held a technical consultation with wildlife, nature and species "experts". It was open for comments for six weeks between April and May 2024. The consultation on this element is now closed. Here is a copy of the presentation delivered at the launch event at The Sill (1.5 MB, opens in a new window). Thank you to everybody who sent in their comments, we have those safely and they will help improve the next steps. The attached pdf document explains more (click here, opens in a new window, 2.8MB, 82 pages). It summarises the process for preparing the LNRS, as set out in the Government guidance we are following. And it starts the consultation to validate the "building blocks" of the first steps in the LNRS process. Our description of the biodiversity in the area is written using the National Character Areas (NCAs) as a way of dividing up the North of Tyne into similar landscapes. Our mapping for stage 1 of the LNRS process is here, which is part of a collection of maps (both links open in a new window). The NCAs can be viewed interactively at the end of the first map tile. Our proposed "conversation areas" is the fourth one of the collection. We are working with the Environmental Records Information Centre (ERIC). The species longlists are available to download from their website (the marine species longlist is separate).
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