Kent and Medway Local Nature Recovery Strategy: consultation opens

We’re all being asked to help end the decline of nature in the county

People across Kent and Medway are being asked to help shape a new strategy to end the decline of nature across the county and support its recovery.

The consultation on the draft Kent and Medway Local Nature Recovery Strategy opened on Thursday (January 16) and runs until Wednesday, March 12. You can find it here

The strategy highlights the ambitions of helping habitats such as chalk grasslands, ancient woodland and coastal grazing marsh and mudflats.

It also identifies priority species that need assistance, like the shrill carder bee, barn owl, Duke of Burgundy butterfly and green-winged orchid.

The draft strategy sets out the priorities for the recovery of nature in the county and the recommended actions to deliver this. It also proposes areas where the creation or improvement of habitat could take place, highlighting where the greatest benefits will be for nature.

The strategy’s principles start with improving and safeguarding what we already have and aim towards connectivity between these areas, giving nature more resilience.

Some habitats are becoming increasingly fragmented and the strategy aims to connect these fragmented pieces and provide a more linked natural space in which nature can thrive. A lot of this action will take place not in the areas already protected for nature but in the parts of Kent where opportunities to enhance, extend and create habitat have been identified.

While the measures identified are voluntary, the strategy offers a comprehensive guide to nature recovery that opens the door to strategic and financial benefits for farmers, landowners, developers, community groups and others in taking forward the measures. It is also linked to local planning and is anticipated to be delivered by a variety of public and private funding mechanisms.

The strategy is the first of its kind for the county and will be one of 48 across England, with the shared aim of halting and reversing the decline of nature.

It has been prepared by Kent County Council, appointed by Defra as Responsible Authority. It was drawn up by the Making Space for Nature project team, working with more than 1,000 people over the past year to develop it to this stage.

• To learn more about the Kent and Medway Local Nature Recovery Strategy, click here