A new native woodland near Sherriffhales has just gone in adjacent to a Priority Habitat Deciduous woodland.

Planted with whips in 1.5m tree guards to help protect against the resident deer population, the species planted because of the damp ground are Bay Willow Salix pentandra, Alder Alnus glutinosa and Silver Birch Betula pendula. Whilst generating nearly 3BU, the trees will also serve to mitigate some of the nutrient runoff from the above arable land.

The stated intention is for the LNRS areas to suggest the best actions in the best locations, from small nature-friendly adjustments to farming practices to large-scale habitat restoration.

As borne out from early consultation I’ve had, this will not require you to change how you use your land or restrict development, but provide information to help you decide how to manage your land and make informed choices.

However, the unofficial stance is the LNRSs will help government when considering applications for funding specific nature recovery activities, by acting as criteria in applications for some schemes. They will also help guide and perhaps incentivise landowners to create or enhance habitats for BNG.

How to have your say.

Measures to unblock much-needed infrastructure projects whilst supporting nature recovery at scale will be included in proposals for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill this year, the Government announced on 22 January as part its Plan for Change.

As set out in the Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery, the proposals are expected to be supportive of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) planning obligation in England.

BNG incentivises nature positive choices on development sites, with a developing private marketplace for off-site biodiversity units which the government continues to fully support. This means that where a developer engages with the Nature Restoration Fund to address a specific environmental impact, the biodiversity gain requirement will continue to apply.

Planning proposals to unblock vital infrastructure and drive nature’s recovery

I was out and about on the various sites in the unseasonably warm weather at the end of the year. We’ve seen a very positive response in an enhanced meadow in Cumbria

this is a prospective woodland enhancement basking in the sun before the weekend

and then the weekend

it’s all gone now - so at least the local Barn Owl can hunt more easily - and I’m looking forward to seeing all the sites again as Spring arrives.

A little bit of housekeeping this one.

I’ve decided that I can’t cover all social media - and I know I’ve been slack on this front- so in light of the current mess out there, I’m going to concentrate on Bluesky (and LinkedIn if that counts as social/business media).

I have a personal view of this as well, of course 😉