The Local Nature Recovery Strategy​

The strategy and toolkit consist of a set of priorities for nature recovery, which are the most important outcomes for nature recovery in the region. Each of these priorities has a number of measures associated with it, which are the actions that could be taken to achieve the priority. Alongside a description of the state of nature locally, the priorities and measures form the ‘Statement of Biodiversity Priorities’.

These measures are then mapped to the locations in the Mayoral Combined Authority and North Somerset where they would have the biggest impact and/or are most feasible. These are the ‘mapped measures’.

The mapped measures together form the ‘focus areas for nature recovery’, which show where action for nature recovery will be most impactful.

The ‘Local Habitat Map’ shows the areas already of importance for biodiversity and the focus areas for nature recovery.

Our online toolkit allows you to easily interact with the priorities, measures and focus areas for nature recovery. This will help you understand what the most impactful actions to take for nature locally are, and find guidance and funding to carry out these ‘measures’.

If you want to understand how you can best help nature where you are, we recommend using the online toolkit. The Local Habitat Map and mapped measures provide a more ‘strategic’ way of understanding the same information.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are ‘a new, England-wide system of spatial strategies that establish priorities and map proposals for specific actions to drive nature’s recovery and provide wider environmental benefits’, as set out by Government in the Environment Act 2022.​

As well as having a role in the planning system and directing public funding for nature recovery, LNRSs will inform the delivery of ‘nature-based solutions’ for outcomes such as flood management, carbon sequestration and improvements in water quality.​

There is a single LNRS covering the unitary authority areas of Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset. We have referred to our LNRS as the ‘Local Nature Recovery Toolkit’.

In total, there will be around 50 LNRSs, covering the whole of England. Once completed and joined together, the aim is that they will support delivery of a national Nature Recovery Network.​

Nature is collapsing at an alarming and unprecedented rate. Globally we have lost 60% of wild vertebrates and up to 76% of insects since 1970. And in the West of England, numbers of once common birds like swifts and cuckoos have dropped by more than 96%.

The decline in nature matters to all of us because of the vital role that wildlife and nature play in supporting our wellbeing, society and economy. Nature provides the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and many of the resources we need to survive and maintain our quality of life.

Reversing this decline will require a coordinated effort across society, as well as an improved understanding of the most important actions for nature recovery and how these can be delivered.

The Local Nature Recovery Strategy identifies desired outcomes for nature recovery in the region, including those considered to be ‘priorities’, and potential measures to deliver them. Ultimately, we see the Toolkit as being the guiding vision for nature in the region, enabling collective effort to be focused where it will have most benefit.

• The Mayoral Combined Authority has led the production of the Nature Recovery Strategy and Toolkit. Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bristol Council, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset Council and Natural England are all ‘Supporting Authorities’ for the production of the toolkit and have approved its publication.
• Governance and management mechanisms were put in place to ensure representation from a broad range of stakeholder interests, including local government, environmental NGOs, regulatory bodies, utility companies, farming and landholders, and the healthcare sector.
• The priorities, measures and focus areas for nature recovery were developed after many conversations with people across the region, including communities, businesses, farmers and landowners.
• A public consultation was conducted on a draft version of the Toolkit in Spring 2024, and the Mayoral Combined Authority have used the feedback from the consultation to update the toolkit for publication.
• Want to know more? Read more information on how the priorities and measures for nature recovery were developed (pdf, 400kb).

The public consultation on the draft Local Nature Recovery Toolkit was conduced from March to May 2024.

Through the consultation, you the public provided thoughts on the identified priorities for nature recovery in the Mayoral Combined Authority and the mapped 'focus areas' for nature recovery.

To produce the Consultation Draft, the Mayoral Combined Authority collated and analysed existing knowledge on the state of nature in the West of England to identify areas of particular importance for biodiversity and opportunities to restore nature. This included using existing strategies and plans such as the Forest of Avon Plan, West of England Nature Recovery Network, Bristol Avon Catchment Plan, and Local Authorities' Green Infrastructure Strategies, among many others.

As well as working closely with numerous stakeholders (including through the West of England Nature Partnership and Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership), the Mayoral Combined Authority engaged with communities, businesses, and farmers and landholders to help shape the development of the LNRT. This included:

• A survey aimed at communities and residents in the West of England, which closed in September.
• A 'call for evidence' for existing information and research on people's priorities for nature recovery in the region, which we are in the process of analysing.
• A survey asking farmers and landholders for their thoughts on priorities for nature and how the LNRS could be made most useful for them.
• Three in-person events where we have spoken to farmers and landholders, followed by an in-person workshop in January 2024.
• A business-focused workshop and several 1-to-1 conversations with businesses across the region.