Bucks and Milton Keynes among areas to share in £14m Nature Recovery fund

Bucks and Milton Keynes is one of 48 chosen areas that will get a share of a combined £14 million funding pot aimed at helping develop a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for their area.

In the UK, around 41 per cent of our wildlife species have declined in recent decades and a quarter of UK mammals face extinction, due to pressures like climate change, pests and diseases, habitat loss, development and overuse of resources or pollution.

While nature provides a myriad of benefits such as better human health and wellbeing, flood management, and carbon sequestration, only 13 per cent of Bucks and eight per cent of Milton Keynes is covered with high-quality natural habitats and far less lies in areas with some level of protection.

The £14 million government funding pot is meant to enable the 48 chosen areas to work with their local communities to develop a tailored Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for their area.

Bucks was also part of a pilot LNRS process in 2020-2021 to help determine the final guidance for the LNRS, and the information gathered from that process will be built upon and expanded in this final iteration of the LNRS..

Earlier this year, the government published regulations and guidance setting out the process that each authority must follow and what each strategy should include.

With the best ways to support nature recovery depending on local geography, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy process will work closely with communities and other stakeholders to map out how and where to recover nature and identify priorities that also achieve wider benefits.

The LNRS process for Bucks and Milton Keynes will take place over the next 12 to 18 months and will use lessons learned from the pilot.

Bucks Council has been designated the Responsible Authority for producing the strategy for Bucks and Milton Keynes, with Milton Keynes City Council and Natural England serving as key supporting authorities.

The Bucks and Milton Keynes Natural Environment Partnership (NEP), the area’s successful Local Nature Partnership, which was also involved with the pilot work, will be leading the strategy creation process.

LNRSs will not mandate any changes to local landowners.

Gareth Williams, cabinet member for climate change and environment, said: “It’s fantastic news that the government has nominated Bucks as one of the new LNRS areas.

"The NEP has already started work on our LNRS, including organising introductory webinars to provide a range of stakeholders in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes with information on the LNRS and how they can get involved in the process.

“Creating our LNRS is an important piece of work which sits alongside key priorities for the council of tackling climate change and improving the environment.

"This ties in with our Bucks Climate Challenge, which involves us working with local communities to tackle the impact of climate change in Buckinghamshire. We’re aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest.”

More information on the Bucks Climate Challenge can be found here

You can find out more about the LNRS and attend an introductory webinar here