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������Ƶ County Council is running the public consultation to inform the preparation of the new countywide strategy, which will help protect and improve ������Ƶ’s local environment.

The Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for ������Ƶ will be one of 48 across England and key in the delivery of a national Nature Recovery Network of sites.

Councillor Richard Morris, ������Ƶ County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment said: “A huge thank you to everyone who has already submitted their feedback on the consultation, all the information gathered will go a long way to helping us shape this important new strategy for our environment.

“We’ve decided to extend the deadline to ensure that everyone has a chance to feedback, so whether you are a school, volunteer organisation, business or individual, show us how you contribute or are looking to contribute. We’re looking for any ideas, whether it’s a new meadow, tree planting, wetland, support for hedgehogs or anything else that could have a positive impact on our environment.”

The LNRS is a new type of plan for nature and environmental improvement. They are a legal requirement of the Environment Act 2021 and ������Ƶ County Council has been appointed as the Responsible Authority to lead the preparation of ������Ƶ’s LNRS, supported by the six District Councils and Natural England.

Each LNRS will contain a locally agreed Statement of Biodiversity Priorities and a Local Habitat Map. Once adopted, the LNRS will be a way for anyone to view the agreed nature recovery priorities in a location and determine what practical action could be delivered to achieve those priorities.

This first stage of the consultation process is asking ������Ƶ residents what the local threats and priorities should be for nature’s recovery and where the opportunities are within the county to deliver more, bigger and better improvements for nature.

Once this consultation closes and responses analysed, there will then be a second stage of the consultation, later this year, on a full draft of the strategy.

Take part in the conversation about nature recovery at the ������Ƶ Local Nature Recovery Strategy pages of the County Council website.