Agenda item

To receive an update from Chloe Edwards, Local Nature Recovery Strategy Project Manager.

Matt Whitney gave a presentation on behalf of Chloe Edwards; this highlighted that Oxfordshire County Council will launch a consultation on the draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) around mid-October for six weeks. The consultation will include drafts of the below:

• Statement of biodiversity priorities
• Species priorities list
• Description of strategy area
• Local habitat map

Matt noted that there have been over 1,000 contributions so far, indicating strong engagement for Oxfordshire’s LNRS compared to other counties.

The following discussion focused on the habitat map, where Matt explained the blue areas represent the existing habitats (at 6.5% of the county) and the purple areas are where new habitats will look to be created (an additional 29% of the county). The goal is 30% by 2030 however 35% has been highlighted to provide some flexibility. Simon Smith added that there will be an additional step to distinguish between the different types of habitats.

Camilla Burrow mentioned that the consultation will include an interactive map for people to zoom in and out of and pin specific areas to add comments. There will be an accompanying questionnaire with questions of varying detail.

Board members were asked to share the consultation information with their wider networks when it goes live.

David Macdonald offered to assist in creating a more advanced interactive map as he has previous experience in building a similar platform, he will speak with Matt and other relevant Board members outside of the meeting to see where he can support.

Action – David Macdonald to meet with Matt, Camilla, Chloe, and Alison Smith to discuss the interactive map.

Action – Communications pack to be sent out to Board members to share when the consultation goes live.

The Chair opened a conversation on creating the deliverables and a delivery plan for the LNRS once it is live. It was agreed that delivery is best handled at a local and landscape scale and is something to be addressed next year. Simon emphasised the importance of supporting farmers and other partners, ensuring they are funded and resourced appropriately to enable the delivery of the LNRS.

Camilla Burrow highlighted feedback received from the last consultation that suggested people aren’t aware of how they can help, what they can do or where to get the funds. It was discussed that the existing group of trusted advisors be expanded and supported further to have more comprehensive support abilities to support project development beyond an initial consultation.

Ian Boll noted that the planning departments across the councils are currently busy working on their Local Plans and may have limited capacity to support the LNRS at present. It was highlighted that clarity is needed on how the LNRS is being integrated into individual draft local plans.

Action – LNRS team to consult with planning officers to confirm to what degree the LNRS is mentioned within local plans.

Rosie Rowe suggested updating the LNP website to include information on the LNRS. This is on the Wild Oxfordshire website, but it would be helpful to have it all held in one place.

Action – LNP website to include LNRS details.