Issue - meetings

Councillor Carolyn Healy, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Green Spaces, Natural and Historic Environment and Cultural Services presented the report of the Director: Property & Investment.

The Council had made a commitment to the retention of locally important green spaces which had value to local communities. This already included the protection afforded to the Green Network through policies in the adopted Local Plan, through the existing 200 Green Guarantee Sites and 17 Local Nature Reserves.   The report sets out proposals to designate a new Local Nature Reserve (LNR) at a range of new sites along with extensions to some existing LNR to cover areas of land which had not been included in the original declarations.  Through this commitment the area of LNR protected would increase by 151 hectares to a total of 707 hectares of approved LNR. 

Maps showing the proposed LNRs were presented in Appendix 1 of the report. 

Following the approval, the sites would progress through a formal process with Natural England prior to final legal declaration.

Members welcomed the report.

RESOLVED that -

(a)       The declaration of the new areas of Local Nature Reserve including both new and extended sites be approved; and 

(b)       authority be delegated to the Director: Prosperity and Investment and Director: Policy and Governance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Green Spaces, Natural and Historic Environment and Cultural Services to complete the declaration process.