Issue - meetings

The report of the Director – Neighbourhoods is attached.

It was RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)               supports the pre-publication of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS); and

b)               supports Nottinghamshire County Council publishing the LNRS.

The Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Safety, Councillor Inglis, presented the report of the Director – Neighbourhoods, detailing the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Councillor Inglis referred to establishment of the 48 Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), supporting nature and wildlife, and benefitting people by allowing them to enjoy nature. Cabinet noted that Nottinghamshire County Council was formally appointed as the Responsible Authority for the LNRS on 26 June 2023. Councillor Inglis referred to paragraph 5.3 of the report, which detailed how the LNRS was intended to guide action to support nature across the county and that Rushcliffe had supported the County Council by serving on various working groups.

Councillor Inglis confirmed that a draft formal consultation with the supporting authorities had been undertaken during March and April, followed by a six-week public consultation, and it had been endorsed by the Communities Scrutiny Group. 44 amendments came forward from the consultation, 16 of those by residents from Rushcliffe, showing how passionate local residents were to be involved.

Councillor Inglis advised that the report was being considered to allow any objections to be raised prior to the publication of the Strategy in November. However, given the considerable work already undertaken by officers, he felt that it would be ungracious to raise any objection to the completed publication, which would replace the 2003 and 2020 strategies.

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Brennan welcomed the pre-publication of the LNRS and acknowledged the hard work of officers, working with partners to bring it to fruition. Nature across the Borough was depleted and given continued house building it was even more important to protect and enhance the local environment, as maintaining and improving those green spaces had a positive impact on residents’ health and wellbeing. She hoped that going forward resources would be found to help deliver elements of the Strategy and that the Council would continue to work hard to improve the natural environment of the Borough. Councillor Brennan stated that the current LNRS website was not very accessible and difficult to navigate, and she asked that the County Council review the website to improve its accessibility going forward.      

Councillor Upton endorsed the Strategy and stated that he particularly liked the concept of wildlife corridors.

It was RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)               supports the pre-publication of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS); and

b)               supports Nottinghamshire County Council publishing the LNRS.