April 2024

Priorities for local nature recovery to be set out in new strategy – and local community asked to have their say

A new initiative is designed to set priorities for nature recovery across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough as part of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy – and a survey is now open to capture local community views.

The call for local community support is part of the development of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) – a national Government initiative designed to set priorities for nature recovery across England. Natural Cambridgeshire has been asked by the County Council to support the creation of an LNRS for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, as the County undertakes this commission on behalf of the СРСА.

Separate surveys are live for members of the general public, or individuals representing a local community/special interest group or organisation. The survey asks participants to share their views and insights on local knowledge and aspirations, including:

  • What you love about your local natural environment.
  • Where you love to go locally, to enjoy nature.
  • Why your natural environment is important to you.

Speaking about the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Director of Natural Cambridgeshire Pamela Abbott said:
“Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is one of the most nature-depleted areas in England and it’s critical that we shape nature recovery in the county. Local communities have a key role in enabling this. Through these surveys, local people can help us understand in greater depth the important local habitats and wildlife that need to be treasured and conserved, and identify where we can increase biodiversity and create landscapes more resilient against climate change and other environmental pressures.”

The surveys are now closed for contributions – but were open until 5pm on 19 April. 

The survey findings will help feed into the wider work of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy as it sets priorities for nature recovery in the local area. The public will also be asked to engage in a wider public consultation on the strategy at a later stage.

November 2023 to August 2024

Stakeholder engagement to species recovery: The next phase of LNRS in 2024

The following workstreams commenced in November and the following progress has taken place.

Stakeholder engagement

In January 2024 Natural Cambridgeshire began leading on hosting a range of stakeholder engagement events, including:

  • Expert engagement
  • Farmer and landowner engagement
  • Development group (also known as Natural Cambridgeshire Policy and Planning Forum)
  • Community engagement
  • Interest groups

Further information can be found in our stakeholder engagement plan.

In February – April 2024 the following surveys and questionnaires were launched to understand the following:

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) – have your say! To understand:

  • The public’s thoughts and ideas on shaping nature recovery in the county.
  • The public’s relationship with their local nature environment and which aspects of nature are most important and why.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) – survey for local groups and organisations. To capture:

  • The views, ideas, plans and priorities that local groups and organisations would like to contribute towards the development of our LNRS.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) – survey for farmers and landowners. To capture:

  • The views, ideas, plans and priorities that farmers and landowners would like to contribute towards the development of our LNRS.

Overall, we received just over 1300 responses to the surveys and questionnaires above and further information can be found here.

Data and evidence workstream

Mapping outputs

Natural Capital Solutions have been supporting the LNRS Production Team to create the mapping elements of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough LNRS. The following steps have been completed.

  1. A data request was circulated to stakeholders and partners.
  2. Updated habitat mapping with data was received from the data request (step 1).
  3. Enhanced habitat mapping was received, with Natural Capital Solutions identifying any gaps in the data.
  4. A nature capital assessment undertaken with new baseline data. Mapping outputs plotted using the new baseline data. Opportunity maps, the Local Habitat Map and the mapping of measures developed
  5. Mapping elements prepared to be used in the consultation process.

Species recovery

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Environmental Record Centre (CPERC) have been working on developing the Species Priority List to identify species recovery in our LNRS. Using the species guidance released by Defra, CPERC have undertaken the following steps:

  1. Created a long list of species in the county, with an initial first step to create a ‘long-list of species’ in the county. This list was then reviewed by county recorders to make a ‘recommendation’ of species they had identified as suitable candidates for the Priority List of species.
  2. Long list refined to a short list using an agreed criteria.
  3. Priority Species list agreed.

A species working group has been organised to agree the Priority Species list and identify potential measures for each species. This work has now been completed and will be fed into the draft chapters of our LNRS.

Prioritisation process

Outputs from the following workstreams have been collated to create the draft long list of habitat priorities and potential measures for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Data and Evidence
  • Land use Strategies and Policies
  • Wider Environmental Benefits

The long list of habitat priorities and potential measures was then taken through a prioritisation process to agree a short list of habitat priorities. This work is currently underway.

January to October 2023

Building a sustainable future: key steps in 2023.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough LNRS will be developed with an evidence-based, locally-led and collaborative approach.

Between January and October 2023, the Steering Group have been working on the following:

  • Establishing project management principles.
  • Creating a strong governance structure, timelines, and framework to deliver the LNRS.
  • Starting early on engagement with key stakeholders.
  • Understanding baseline data to assist the delivery of LNRS.

In October 2023 the following contracts have been awarded. The development of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy is very much underway, with:

  • Natural Capital Solutions to provide expert GIS support and assist in the delivery of the data and evidence workstream.
  • Land Use Consultants to provide an authorship role and to write the final strategy.
  • Natural Cambridgeshire to support delivery of the stakeholder engagement and communication workstream.

All contractors will work alongside the LNRS Production Team. This is co-ordinated by the LNRS Officer and be given direction by the LNRS Steering Group.