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Our vision

A thriving natural environment

Our vision for the West of England is a thriving natural environment supporting a resilient society and economy, with interconnected landscapes benefiting nature, climate, and people. The Local Nature Recovery Strategy and Toolkit are central to this, empowering action across the region — but achieving it relies on collaboration with farmers, communities, businesses, and partners, like you.

Have a positive impact on nature when planning

This guide and the Local Nature Recovery Toolkit (LNRT) show developers and planners where development could have the biggest impact on nature.

This guide is intended to be used by planners, ecologists and developers to assist them in interpreting the Local Nature Recovery Toolkit (LNRT), in its role as the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for the Mayoral Combined Authority and North Somerset, in planning decisions.

This includes the role of the LNRT in deciding whether biodiversity net gain (BNG) units are eligible for the strategic significance multiplier using the Biodiversity Metric.

Biodiversity Net Gain

The LNRS has a role in targeting biodiversity net gain (BNG) to the most impactful locations through a 15% uplift (using the Biodiversity Metric’s strategic significance multiplier) in BNG units in certain areas. If an intervention is to receive a 15% uplift, it must be in a mapped ‘focus area for nature recovery’ and be a recommended (mapped) measure there.

There are two ways to ascertain where a given measure would be eligible for an uplift in BNG Units:

Map of region - detail unclear
Option 1

Use the toolkit

Using the Local Nature Recovery Toolkit you can see whether a location is in a focus area for nature recovery and, if so, click on a given location to bring up a table of recommended measures. You can filter measures by ‘Core (BNG)’ status to view those that would be eligible for BNG uplift in that location.

Map - detail unclear
Option 2

Use online maps and downloadable shapefiles

Alternatively, there are also online maps and downloadable shapefiles of where each mapped measure is mapped to in the region. These show where each measure would be eligible for BNG uplift. The files can be viewed on the Open Data Portal, and you can find more information on which measures are included in which map layer here.

You can also access a dedicated map as a guide to which areas would be eligible for a BNG uplift within each sub-area.

In most cases, there will need to be some level of ecologist input to make the final decision as to whether an intervention is eligible for BNG uplift or not, using their understanding of the measures and habitat types within the BNG Metric.

If you are planning to create and manage habitats as part of BNG, please speak to an ecologist at the relevant Local Planning Authority for further guidance on what would be most appropriate for the site.

Example: Purchasing BNG units for a planning application

Developer X is planning to purchase off-site BNG units as part of a planning application. The proposed site for the BNG Units is within a mapped focus area for nature recovery, and so may be eligible for BNG Uplift.

The proposal would result in the enhancement of two hectares of existing semi-natural broadleaved woodland, and the enhancement of two hectares of improved grassland to lowland meadow.

In this location, measures related to woodland enhancement/management are mapped but measures related to the creation of lowland meadows are not mapped.

Therefore, the BNG units gained as a result of the enhancement of woodland would be eligible to apply the Strategic Significance Multiplier and receive the 15% uplift in the BNG metric, whereas the creation of lowland meadow would not.

Baseline

Habitat TypeArea/haHabitat conditionStrategic significanceTotal Biodiversity Units
Modified grassland2PoorLow4.00
Lowland mixed deciduous woodland2Fairly PoorLow18.00

Post-intervention

Habitat TypeArea/haHabitat conditionStrategic significanceTotal Biodiversity Units
Lowland meadow2ModerateLow8.61
Lowland mixed deciduous woodland2Fairly GoodHigh22.93

The role of the LNRS in planning

At the time of writing, Government has not yet released additional guidance regarding the role of the LNRS in planning. However, the Levelling up and Regeneration Act (2023) states that any Local Plans and Spatial Strategies must ‘take into account’ the relevant LNRS for the planning authority, making clear that the LNRS plays a role in place-making and planning.

Firstly, it is important to make clear that the mapped focus areas for nature recovery do not prevent any development (or other activity) from taking place. However, in making planning decisions, it is advised that developers and planners consider:

  • That the impact of development on nature may be greater in the mapped focus areas, particularly where it is close to existing habitats or may compromise connectivity between habitats.
  • That developments in the mapped focus areas should take particular consideration of how they can make a positive contribution towards the recommended measures in that area. For example, if a development takes place in an area where woodland or wood pasture creation is mapped as a measure, the development could make additional effort to incorporate native trees and wooded corridors so as to make a positive contribution towards nature recovery.

Even outside of the mapped focus areas, the LNRT could be used to help inform how a development could best contribute towards nature recovery by finding out which measures are recommended in the proposed development location.

Our vision for the West of England

Our vision for the West of England is of a thriving natural environment that underpins a healthy and resilient society and economy - fully connected landscapes and a network of natural habitats and wildlife corridors, working for nature, climate and people, from our wildest places to our towns and city centres.

We have a region-wide plan to coordinate this - we are the first English Region to publish its Local Nature Recovery Strategy. And, crucially, with it, we have launched our very own Local Nature Recovery Toolkit - a vital resource that will bring our plan alive - informing and empowering action for nature and accelerating our impact right across the region.

We will only be able to do this by working in step with the region’s communities, businesses, land managers, funders and decision makers, as well as our nature conservation partners, local councils and the West of England Combined Authority.

We all need a healthy natural environment and access to nature, for our improved health and wellbeing and to ensure a sustainable future. We want everyone to have the opportunity to engage with, and benefit from, nature - wherever we live, whoever we are.