Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is currently being developed to guide nature recovery initiatives throughout Wiltshire.

Give your feedback on LNRS mapping

Join our mailing list

Subscribe to our mailing list to ensure you get future LNRS updates and event invitations straight to your inbox. Join our LNRS mailing list, specifying what your interest in the LNRS is so we can ensure you get the relevant updates.

Join our LNRS mailing list (opens new window)

What the Local Nature Recovery Strategy is

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are a mechanism to deliver recovery at a local and regional scale as introduced in the legislation.gov.uk: Environment Act 2021 - Local nature recovery strategies Section 106 (opens new window). The Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Recovery Strategy will consist of a document containing biodiversity priorities and a habitat map which will inform and guide nature recovery across Wiltshire.

The Local Nature Recovery Strategy will:

• agree priorities for nature's recovery
• map the most valuable existing areas for nature
• map specific proposals for creating or improving habitat for nature and wider environmental goals

For further information, read GOV.UK: Policy paper - Local nature recovery strategies (opens new window).

Why the Local Nature Recovery Strategy is needed

The UK's wildlife is continuing to decline, with the State of Nature (opens new window), a comprehensive report on UK wildlife, showing that the species studied have, on average, declined by 19% in the UK since monitoring began in 1970. Great Britain is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world with nearly one in six species threatened with extinction.

Much of this decline is due to the intensification of human land use. This has led to natural and semi-natural habitats being degraded and fragmented which, alongside climate change is resulting in a loss of biodiversity.

By mapping where important habitats can be conserved, restored and connected, Wiltshire and Swindon's Local Nature Recovery Strategy will allow effort and funding to be funnelled into the most important areas, supporting Nature Recovery across the landscape. Wiltshire and Swindon's Local Nature Recovery Strategy can also help to achieve the multiple environmental benefits that nature brings to people, such as: clean air and water, reduced flood risk and socio-economic benefits such tourism or green prescribing.

To see how we are breaking Wiltshire up for the LNRS please refer to our Area descriptions for the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (opens new window). This work was informed by a Wildlife Trust document Landscape Biodiversity Areas: A landscape-scale framework for conservation in Wiltshire and Swindon (opens new window).

User testing

User testing was conducted in February 2024, these events were designed to gain an understanding of how various audience groups needed to use the LNRS within their sectors of work so the LNRS could be designed to fit needs and ensure better uptake of its recommendations.

Read the  Report of Usability Testing (Word doc) [206KB] (opens new window) to see the outcomes of this.

Long listing

Events

During March 2024, three in person workshops were run to gather different priorities for nature recovery across Wiltshire.

There were 159 attendees over the three events.

Online survey

Alongside the in-person Longlist events, an online survey was run between 7 March and 31 March to continue to capture ideas for nature recovery from a wider audience.

There were 276 responses to the survey.

Consolidation

Work has taken place to consolidate the outputs from these events and the survey, merging these with priorities and measures in pre-existing strategies, such as river catchment strategies.

Read the LNRS Longlisting Methodology May 2024 (OpenDocument text format) [18MB] (opens new window)  to learn more about the Longlisting methodology and main themes from the Longlisting outputs.

Shortlisting

Shortlisting is being completed by a shortlisting working group and a species specialist group. Their outputs will then be viewed by a validation group of those who know the area well to check outcomes. Shortlisting is taking place throughout May and June 2024.

Mapping

A contractor able to undertake the complex work required to model "areas that could become of importance to nature recovery" according to the priorities and measures shortlisted, were appointed in May 2024.

Give your feedback on LNRS mapping

We are running an online survey to gather feedback on the accuracy of our first draft LNRS Map and supporting text. We will consider all responses and, where appropriate, use them to make improvements to the map before it is subject to full consultation in February 2025.

The survey will run between Monday 23 September 2024 and Friday 11 October 2024 inclusive. Complete the LNRS Feedback Survey (opens new window). 

First draft of the LNRS Map (September 2024) 

The Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) team have worked closely with stakeholders since early 2024 looking at how we can produce a usable LRNS, identifying your priorities and proposals for nature recovery, preparing draft priorities and measures (what needs to be done to aid nature's recovery), and we have now started mapping areas in Swindon and Wiltshire where future nature improvement projects should be provided to give nature the best chance for recovery.

View the draft LNRS Map on ArcGIS: Wiltshire's Local Natural Recovery Strategy map (opens new window) 

A short video guide on how to navigate the draft LNRS Map and complete the LNRS Feedback Survey (opens new window) can be accessed via YouTube: LNRS Feedback Survey tutorial v2 (opens new window).

View the supporting text outlining draft measures Local Nature Recovery Strategy Measures (opens new window).

When reviewing the first draft LNRS Map, it's important to keep in mind that:

• the map attempts to show only the best places to undertake nature recovery. It does not attempt to factor in other considerations that may make the location undesirable.
• the mapped locations should not be thought of as the only locations where the measures should be deployed, but merely the best places.

Supporting webinars

To support the launch of the first draft LNRS Map and survey, we held two webinars that shared more information about the draft Map and answered audience questions. The first webinar was specifically for farmers and landowners, held in July 2024. The second session was open to anyone with an interest in the LNRS, held in September 2024. You can view recordings of the sessions here:

Democratic processes and sign-off

After ground truthing events and the writing of the strategy, the project moves into democratic sign off processes. This will consist of:

• supporting authority sign offs - Swindon Borough Council and The New Forest National Protected Area will comment and sign off the LNRS
• Formal Public Consultation -formal consultation process to the public on the LNRS
• Natural England copy - the consultation copy of the LNRS will go to Natural England for their comments
• council sign-off - the LNRS will go through the Environment Select Committee, Cabinet and then to Full Council to sign off on council adoption of the LNRS
• fully adopted LNRS sent to DEFRA

More details on these steps will be provided as we undertake them.

Please email localnaturerecoverystrategy@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window) if you have any queries related to this work.

Wiltshire and Swindon's LNRS Governance

We have set up and appointed members to an oversight, and steering group who meet on a regular basis.