West’s leaders unite behind nature at the UK’s first Wild Summit

The Mayor of the West of England and leaders from Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire councils have today announced a landmark joint commitment to see nature flourish, backed by the CEOs of Triodos Bank UK and Wildlife and Countryside Link.

Speaking at the Wild Summit — the UK’s new flagship conference for the nature sector, hosted at Bristol Beacon — the West’s leaders confirmed that nature’s recovery will be embedded into the upcoming regional Growth Strategy, set to be published on 24 September. This follows the West being the first region in England to publish a Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:

“As we turn the page in the West, and write our regional Growth Strategy, together we will back nature. This is a smart investment in the prosperity, resilience, and wellbeing of communities across our area for years to come.

“Nature does not constrain our region’s growth, it’s among the many things driving it. We can, and do, do both, as the natural home of green jobs. Environmental investment brings an economic return and a social one: greener, healthier places for everyone to live and work.

“The West’s iconic landscapes are rightly a real source of local pride. From the Severn Estuary to the Avon Gorge, from the Mendips to the Cotswolds, our natural world is also another unique selling point for us in a competitive national and global economy.”

This shared commitment to nature recovery across the West recognises that re-connected and thriving natural systems underpin better quality of life, places to live and work, productivity, public health, and climate resilience.

The Local Nature Recovery Strategy brings people together under a co-ordinated plan to restore and re-connect nature, and helps integrate nature recovery into housing, transport, and infrastructure planning.

A regional Growth Strategy with nature threaded through it will allow our communities to see and feel the many benefits of nature and will:

• Unlock new investment and skills through new green jobs, emerging nature markets and innovative public–private partnerships.
• Boost productivity and public health by expanding access to high-quality, attractive green spaces for everyone.
• Work together with communities, particularly in deprived areas, to improve people’s neighbourhoods and livelihoods with the opportunity to access nature in a way that works for them.
• Reduce costs, risks and delays by designing with nature from the outset, such as flood risk prevention/reduction through investment involving nature-based solutions.

The West already has a strong track record in nature recovery. Together, the regional authority, councils, and partners across Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire have restored over 850 hectares of habitat, planted more than 230,000 trees, and improved at least 28 miles of rivers over recent years. The region has also emerged as a national hub for nature-based innovation, with leading expertise in green finance, alongside our world-class creative industries including in natural history broadcasting.

Today’s united commitment from the West’s leaders sets a clear course for a region where economic growth alongside care for our natural environment will deliver for people, places, and planet – not just now but long into the future.

Councillor Sarah Warren, Deputy Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Bath and North East Somerset, said:

“Here in the West of England, we are committed to tackling the ecological emergency by helping wildlife and nature to thrive. We already have co-ordinated plans including the Local Nature Recovery Strategy – the first to be published in the UK – that sets out priorities and maps areas where people and organisations can take the most effective action for nature and combined with the Western Forest, the first new national forest in 30 years, will enable large-scale woodland creation and restoration and see 20 million trees planted by 2050. Our ambitious, collaborative approach will help to create a bigger footprint for nature across our region.”

Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, said:

“We are delighted to welcome this inaugural Wild Summit to Bristol and have the opportunity to connect with some many like-minded individuals and organisations about the vital work underway across the nature sector. It’s critical that we work across the West of England to support nature recovery and secure the health of our region. Central to our approach is to empower communities to take local action and to find it easier to make the most of a can-do attitude towards nature action. By working with our communities, to learn from the knowledge they hold about their localities and to bring to these conversations practical solutions to support nature recovery, we can build the sustainable and resilient environment we need to sustain a healthy and thriving economy.”

Councillor Mike Bell, Leader of North Somerset Council said:

“Working in partnership is how we achieve lasting change for nature and our communities. We have just five years to turn the tide on nature’s decline — and that challenge can only be met if we work together. The Wild Summit is about exactly that: councils, Avon Wildlife Trust, the Mendip Hills National Landscape team, and so many others pulling in the same direction. Nature is not a ‘nice to have’ — it protects our communities from flooding, underpins our economy, supports food production, and strengthens our wellbeing. At this first Wild Summit, we’re celebrating the incredible work already happening, but also committing to go further and faster. Together, we can restore nature, build resilience, and leave a thriving natural legacy for future generations.”

Councillor Ian Boulton, Co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council, said:

“We fully support the call to action at today’s Wild Summit. We are proud to be working with partners and our communities on bold, landscape-scale nature recovery.

“A thriving natural environment is the foundation of a resilient economy and thriving communities. Through nature-based solutions, we’re reducing flood and heat risks, enhancing water quality, and promoting community wellbeing. By embedding nature into every council decision in South Gloucestershire and by investing in the natural capital of our land, we’re shaping healthier, more sustainable places for nature and for everyone.”

Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said:

"We're delighted to host the first Wild Summit at Bristol Beacon. The West of England is emerging as an impressive leader in the ambition, effective partnerships and practical delivery needed to restore nature. With the right support from Westminster, every region that champions nature recovery will see the benefits repaid in better health, a thriving economy, and a nature-filled future."

Mark Clayton, CEO of Triodos Bank UK, said:

“Through innovative finance we have helped catalyse the creation of and investment in new business models to support the restoration and conservation of nature. Whether it is peatland, wetlands, grasslands, or forests, there is huge potential to recognise the multiple impacts that nature-based projects can deliver whilst sequestering atmospheric emissions. Investing in nature can be a growth sector for the UK, and particularly in the West, but only if we value nature as a backbone of our economy will we be able to realise the growth potential.”