Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Survey

The survey is now closed, thank you to everyone who submitted a response. We will report back on the findings soon.

Farmers and landowners

No action for nature can take place without the agreement of the people who own and manage the land. Farmers and landowners are therefore key stakeholders in the development and subsequent delivery of the LNRS. We are working closely with NFU and CLA to provide guidance on making the LNRS appropriate and relevant from the farmer and landowner perspective.

We have engaged FM Agri (Kate Mayne and Sarah Faulkner) to lead on the engagement with the farming sector to reach as many people as possible through their networks. A number of events are being organised for January to share some initial work on county priorities and a draft LNRS map.

  • 13th Jan Cockshutt Millenium Hall at 7pm
  • 16th Jan Craven Arms Community Centre at 7pm
  • Telford – details TBC
  • 24th Jan Online event at 12pm 

For more information on why the LNRS is relevant to you click here.

Community groups, biological recording groups and environmental professionals

There is a whole wealth of knowledge and interest in the county, and a long history of focused conservation action. We are lucky in the county to benefit from a whole range experts such as the many biological recorders in the county out surveying different taxa and the many community groups and hundreds of volunteers that spend their spare time making their local space more nature rich. We also value the input from a whole host of dedicated environmental professionals taking action for nature across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. There are significant programmes of work already being delivered will which result in enhanced nature in the county, such as the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme and the Stepping Stones Project, the LNRS aims to amplify the good work already being carried out and identify further action that could be taken.

Local recording groups and volunteers are key to maintaining evidence on the distribution of key species across Shropshire. Special thanks go to a group of county recorders who are working with us to help create a list of priority species for the county and a shortlist of those which will need bespoke action to be taken to recover.

We have engaged Resources for Change to help seek input on the county priorities and a draft LNRS map. Events are currently being organised for January and details will be shared soon.

Town and Parish Councils

We have been working closely with the Shropshire Association of Local Councils and Middle Marches Community Land Trust to engage Town and Parish Councils in the LNRS. As leaders in the local community, Town and Parish Councils are key partners. Following the Environment Act 2021, there is now an enhanced duty on all public bodies to conserve and enhance nature. It’s not always straight forward to understand what that could mean in reality, so we want to provide some useful guidance and inspiration to help with this new responsibility.


We are organising a conference on nature recovery on 6th Dec at the Sylvester Horn Institute in Craven Arms. For more details click here.

Background

Shropshire Council has been asked by the government to lead on the production of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, with the support of Telford & Wrekin Council and Natural England. Our local strategy is one of 48 others being developed across England which will all knit together to cover the whole country as outlined in a Defra video.

We're working together with partners, landowners, farmers, environmental professionals, community groups, businesses and other stakeholders to develop a LNRS which will show where our most valuable areas for nature currently are, and explore the opportunities to restore, enhance, create and link wildlife throughout the area.

Our LNRS will provide the overarching plan of priorities to restore nature in our area and where this is best to happen, whilst also delivering wider environmental benefits such as better water quality and resilience to flooding. Organisations and individuals can then use the strategy to help deliver the overall plan in a coherent and collaborative way.

More information can be found in our FAQS.

Register your interest

For the Local Nature Recovery Strategy to be effective it needs to be owned by those who live and work in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

The process of developing the strategy is just as important as the strategy itself. There will be broad engagement with interested stakeholders during the strategy development process. Without effective engagement, particularly from those who own and manage land, the impact of the strategy would be significantly limited.

There will be opportunities for interested individuals and organisation to engage at various stages through the process, which will be widely publicised.

If you'd like to know more, get involved or be added to the mailing list email L.Parker@shropshire.gov.uk.

Timeline

  • Spring / Summer 2024 - initial mapping and awareness raising
  • Autumn 2024 – surveys
  • Winter 2024 / 25 - focused engagement events
  • Spring 2025 - public consultation
  • Autumn 2025 - adopted strategy

Steering group

The steering group exists to support and guide the development of the LNRS. Members are:

  • Shropshire Council (the responsible authority)
  • Natural England (supporting authority)
  • Telford and Wrekin Council (supporting authority)
  • Country Land and Business Association
  • Environment Agency
  • Forestry Commission
  • National Farmers Union
  • Shropshire Hills National Landscape
  • Shropshire Wildlife Trust

Funding

There is funding to develop the LNRS, but currently not an additional funding stream to implement the strategy. We're looking to work with partners interested in taking action, and may be able to help direct people to relevant funding sources.

The LNRS will help to direct government funding streams, including for farmers and landowners, as well as feeding into local plan development and informing where biodiversity net gain would be best placed.

Biodiversity net gain is a new requirement for most planning applications to ensure habitat for wildlife is in a better state than it was before development.

The best source of funds for landowners / managers is via agri-environment schemes. The Gov.UK website has a wealth of information about the grants that are currently available.

For farmers and landowners in the Shropshire Hills National Landscape, have a look at the Farming in Protected Landscapes Fund to see if your plans could be eligible for funding.

The Wildlife Trust’s Nextdoor Nature Hub is also a useful source of funds for those interested in carrying out activities with a focus on nature.