APPENDIX A Lincolnshire County Council Natural Environment Strategy 2012-2018 Proposed draft version 04 April 2012 Purpose of the Strategy Lincolnshire County Council has a statutory duty to have regard to biodiversity in undertaking its operations. For many years, the Council has been involved with a number of partner organisations in delivering initiatives and managing sites and areas that are important for the maintenance, protection and promotion of Lincolnshire’s natural environment. The recent Government White Paper, The Natural Choice , provides an opportunity to review the Council’s work in this area and to ensure that public resources are being deployed in the most effective way possible. To this end, this Strategy establishes a clear set of priorities within a national framework, in order to provide Council services, local communities and businesses and partner organisations with clarity and confidence about the approach the Council will take in working with the natural environment. Lincolnshire County Council’s approach to the natural environment The Council will work with local businesses, communities, landowners and partner organisations to protect and improve Lincolnshire’s natural environment, providing economic, social, health and amenity benefit to all who live in, work in and visit the county. Strategic Outcomes The natural environment is better understood, and is valued by residents, visitors and businesses for its contribution to the local and regional economy and to the health and amenity of local communities. Effective promotion of Lincolnshire’s natural environment, increases the county’s profile as a tourist destination, contributing to increasing visitor numbers and the amount of time they spend within the area. The natural environment of Lincolnshire is more resilient to climate change, the impacts of which are better understood. The Council’s approach to the natural environment is integrated across its different service areas and with that of its partners and local communities, making the most of existing resources and attracting in more. 1 Liaison with Local Planning Authorities ensures planning policy balances promotion of sustainable growth and economic regeneration with the protection and enhancement of the natural environment. Objectives Establish a method of demonstrating the value of Lincolnshire’s natural environment to the economy, education, health and well-being of local communities, businesses and visitors to the county. Provide a clear long-term direction and business case for the Council’s involvement and investment in improvement and management of the natural environment. This aligns with and supports key partner strategies and plans, locally and nationally, maximises the resources and benefits available locally and brought in externally, and ensures Council resources are used to the greatest effect in combination with those of partners. Use LCC’s resources and responsibilities to facilitate a strategic approach to the management of the natural environment, (a ‘landscape-scale’ approach) focusing on key strategic sites and areas, respecting international, national and local protections, building on existing landscape and historic landscape character areas and assessments, and maximising community and economic benefit. Support initiatives that add to the amenity value and biodiversity of existing areas and sites by creating links between them or extending them where appropriate. Identify and develop opportunities to add value to existing and new initiatives, such as green infrastructure projects, the historic environment and protected landscapes, by joining up across service areas and partner organisations. Strengthen strategic partnership working with individual partner organisations and support the development and establishment of a Local Nature Partnership for Lincolnshire. Establish an agreed evidence base against which the Council and its partners can measure progress in managing the natural environment. Develop a consistent approach to working with local communities, businesses, landowners and voluntary organisations, and provide partner organisations with clarity about the Council’s priorities and commitment for the natural environment. Develop long-term programme of working with local communities to manage, and promote their own environmental assets, as part of a countywide strategy for community involvement and engagement. 2 Supporting a ‘landscape-scale’ approach: key strategic areas and sites The County Council will concentrate its resources on a small number of strategically important areas which provide the best return in terms of economic, health, biodiversity and social and cultural benefit. Important considerations include capacity to attract tourism, local public amenity and the opportunity to work with what already exists. Above all, the role of local communities in shaping and managing their environment is recognised as a key strength. The areas are • The Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) • The Lincolnshire Limewoods • The Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park • Lincolnshire Coastal Grazing Marshes • Trent Vale In addition, the Council will continue to resource the management of a small number of strategically important sites through partnership arrangements with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust • Snipe Dales Country Park and Local Nature Reserve • Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve • Whisby Local Nature Reserve The Council will seek to promote activities that provide multiple benefits, encouraging interconnections between these strategic areas and sites, and embedding the principles of community involvement, economic value and promotion of education, health and tourism benefits across them. It will be an important consideration that once an initiative is completed it will leave a lasting legacy that can be built on further in the future. As initiatives are completed, the Council will identify opportunities for redeploying resources in line with its strategic priorities. Examples of this include the emerging Welland Valley Partnership and the potential Witham Valley Country Park. Green Infrastructure One of the greatest challenges to the health of the natural environment is fragmentation of sites and size reduction. This reduces the movement of wildlife and the spread of plants, and can lead to lowering the biological diversity of a site to the point that it is no longer capable of supporting a species or range of species. Infrastructure planning has a crucial role to play in offsetting such problems, delivering linkage between areas and sites on the ground, particularly through the development of green infrastructure corridors on a landscape scale. 3 Management of our key strategic sites will be closely linked to the development of initiatives such as the Witham Valley Country Park as a delivery vehicle for landscape-scale site linkage, with associated benefits of enhancing public access and health promotion. Local nature reserves (LNRs) and local sites A key principle of this Strategy is the need to work with local people, landowners and businesses to support and facilitate genuine local involvement in the natural and cultural environment. The County Council has the power to designate sites as Local Nature Reserves, which it has exercised on numerous occasions. These can be owned by the County Council, Town and Parish Councils or by charities. There are also a number of former landfill sites which provide local amenity, two of which, have been designated as Local Nature Reserves. Examples of these include • Cross O’Cliff Orchard LNR • Mareham Pastures LNR • South Thoresby LNR • Horncastle Community Woodland • Croft Marsh LNR These local sites have been designated in response to local demand, and are largely managed and maintained by local people with support from officers from the Council’s Environmental Services Strategy and Partnerships Team, providing a network of local people who are informed and committed to working for the benefit of the natural environment. The County Council is also able to support small individual initiatives through the communities and woodlands grant scheme, which provides small amounts of resource to help community-led local projects to progress. Community-led involvement The most effective, lasting solutions to environmental management are those that have strong community support and involvement. It is fundamental to the delivery of this strategy that initiatives are community-led wherever possible, with the Council’s role primarily being to provide support and facilitation to help communities achieve goals that they have identified themselves. Development of Local Nature Reserves and provision of the trees and woodland grant scheme will provide a key aspect of this support. However, this approach is also applied in many respects to the Council’s contributions to more strategic areas such as the Limewoods and the Wolds AONB. This strategy will strengthen and extend this approach, building on good practice already in place and establishing a clearly articulated and consistent 4 methodology for supporting local people to become more involved and to take more of a leading role in managing Lincolnshire’s natural environment. This will include setting out a consistent approach to involvement in, and contribution to, Local Nature Reserves, local sites and small grants programmes, that links and strengthens delivery of long term priorities through strategic areas and sites. Strategic Partnerships Lincolnshire