Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are a new, England-wide system of spatial strategies established by the Environment Act 2021. The main purpose of these strategies is to help reverse the ongoing decline of nature in England by establishing priorities for nature recovery, identifying locations to create or improve habitat where this is most likely to provide the greatest benefit for nature and the wider environment, and contributing to the national Nature Recovery Network of wildlife-rich places across cities and countryside. The LNRS will also inform the delivery of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and help to guide local planning policy for nature recovery.
We are in a global biodiversity crisis, and biodiversity is declining faster than ever before. The good news is that in many cases we know what we need to do to halt and reverse the declines of nature.
The purpose of the LNRS is to identify actions and locations where focussed, evidence-based and properly resourced activity should be prioritised at a local level, to continue to drive the recovery of nature. Using local knowledge to extend, improve, and join up existing important habitats, the LNRS acknowledges what is already here in Nottinghamshire (key areas such as Sherwood Forest Ancient Woodland, the Trent Valley and Sherwood Heathland), as well as identifying the creation of new areas that may become important for biodiversity in the future.
The LNRS is designed to integrate with existing plans and strategies to create a joined-up approach to nature recovery.
The LNRS is designed to integrate with existing plans and strategies to create a cohesive and joined-up approach to nature recovery. Existing plans and strategies, as well as the National Environmental Objectives (a combination of national targets set by Environment Act 2021 and additional commitments from the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023), have been considered during the preparation of the LNRS, especially during identification of the Priorities.
LNRSs are made up of two key components: a Statement of Biodiversity Priorities and a Local Habitat Map. The Statement of Biodiversity Priorities is a written document that outlines the strategy and includes information on the area, as well as including a full list of the identified priorities and potential measures for nature recovery. The Local Habitat Map is a visual representation, on an Ordnance Survey map base, of where these measures for nature recovery can take place.
- Planners and developers should use the LNRS to provide essential evidence for local plans, helping to identify where nature recovery efforts should be prioritised, and ensuring that planning decisions support local biodiversity goals and contribute to the broader Nature Recovery Network, thereby embedding nature recovery considerations into the decision-making process. The LNRS will also guide developers when choosing the location of off-site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units (see also Section 2.3 ‘Relationship to Biodiversity Net Gain’). Importantly, planning guidance from the government requires local plans (including minerals and waste plans and joint spatial development strategies) to ‘have regard to’ the relevant LNRS.
- Farmers, landowners and land managers can use the LNRS to help make decisions about habitat creation and improvement on their land. The LNRS may also have an impact on how government environmental schemes are applied to land.
- Public and environmental organisations should utilise the strategy to guide policies and decisions, direct investments and prioritise funding to deliver maximum benefits to nature recovery. In particular, LNRSs will inform how all public authorities in England meet their legal duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity (the Biodiversity Duty). The duty applies to a long list of national and local government organisations as well as some private utilities such as water companies. Public authorities must understand which LNRSs are relevant to them and how they can contribute. This could be through managing areas of land that they are responsible for in a way that supports what the LNRS proposes and using the LNRS to inform relevant regulatory decisions.
- Individuals, local groups and communities can always play a part in nature recovery and can use the LNRS to find out which community efforts will have the most impact, and where.
As Responsible Authority for Nottinghamshire and Nottingham, the County Council has worked closely with a wide variety of stakeholders including farmers and landowners, government arms-length bodies, environmental and conservation organisations and groups; as well as the Supporting Authorities which includes the seven District and Borough Councils (Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark & Sherwood and Rushcliffe), Nottingham City Council, East Midlands Combined County Authority and Natural England to help develop the strategy.
The LNRS is not a delivery plan, and it does not force farmers, landowners, local authorities, or other agencies to deliver the works identified in the LNRS. It should also be noted that areas that are mapped in the LNRS for habitat creation or improvement do not prevent other legitimate land uses, do not place new restrictions on developing land, and do not identify areas to be given legal protection.
The LNRS is an opportunity for farmers and landowners. If their land falls in an area identified on the Local Habitat Map as an ACB (Area that Could Become of Importance for Biodiversity) it will open up enhanced opportunities for support. This could be through the newly-established BNG regulations, by selling off-site BNG units to developers, or through future potential government support for landscape recovery projects (details not yet known).
The LNRS and ELM schemes are intended to complement each other as part of the UK’s post-Brexit environment and agricultural policies. Whilst the exact details of how they will interact are being developed, both schemes share the goal of improving biodiversity and the environment. It is anticipated that the LNRS will guide local ELM funding allocation, ensuring resources are directed to areas with the greatest potential positive impact, and help identify opportunities for Landscape Recovery project proposals.
Local Nature Recovery Strategies are intended to support local planning authorities in preparing local plans that conserve and enhance biodiversity and the natural environment, and local planning authorities have a legal duty to have regard to the relevant strategy for their area. Local planning authorities should consider the priorities set out in the relevant Local Nature Recovery Strategy when determining how their local plan should contribute to and enhance the local and natural environment. Further guidance is available in the government’s planning practice guidance.
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a significant new approach to development, which aims to ensure that biodiversity is left in a measurably better condition after development has occurred. Ideally the existing biodiversity will stay on the site and will be improved. If this is not possible, new habitats must be created elsewhere, and an important purpose of the LNRS is to help to influence the location of BNG that is delivered at off-site locations.
The LNRS has been put together by consulting experts and non-experts alike. Before publishing this important document, we want to check that it’s as good as it can be, so we want as many people as possible to read it and have an opportunity to provide feedback. We are required by the government to carry out public consultation on the draft LNRS, as set out in the statutory regulations.
All of the comments submitted will be recorded and analysed, and we may need to make changes to the draft LNRS if necessary.
We must report all the comments received when we publish the final version of the LNRS. Comments will be anonymised and no individual or organisation will be named in the report.
We expect the final version of the LNRS to be published in Autumn 2025.
If you complete the online survey and provide your email address at the end of the survey we can add you to our consultation database.
Alternatively please email the LNRS team at LNRSNN@nottscc.gov.uk and request to be added to our LNRS database.