3.30 The Government is committed to an internationally agreed '30 by 30' target to protect 30% of our land and seas by 2030. In addition, the following targets are set in the government’s 25 year Environmental Improvement Plan (and its 2023 update):
- Restoring 75% of our one million hectares of terrestrial and freshwater protected sites to favourable condition, securing their wildlife value for the long term
- Creating or restoring 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside the protected site network, focusing on priority habitats as part of a wider set of land management changes, providing extensive benefits
- Taking action to recover threatened, iconic or economically important species of animals, plants and fungi and (where possible) to prevent human-induced extinction or loss of known threatened species in England and the Overseas Territories
- Increasing woodland in England, in line with our aspiration of 12% cover by 2060. This would involve planting 180,000 hectares by end of 2042
3.31 These aims are reflected in the nature recovery targets set for the West of England, which have been adjusted for Bath and North East Somerset.
Figure 4: WENP nature recovery ambitions adjusted for B&NES
3.32 As set out in the Ecological Emergency Action Plan, there is a need to achieve the following:
- Increase the extent of land and waterways managed positively for nature across Bath and North East Somerset
- Increase the abundance and distribution of key species across Bath and North East Somerset
- Enable more people to access and engage with nature
3.33 New development will need to play its part in delivering these ambitions and the council is considering requiring 20% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
3.34 The council is also considering Natural England’s ‘Green Infrastructure Framework - Principles and Standards for England’ (Green Infrastructure Framework), which includes standards for accessible greenspace, urban nature recovery, urban greening and urban tree canopy cover.
3.35 It is estimated that we need an additional 86.25 ha of accessible greenspace across Bath and North East Somerset for the new homes (not accounting for the increase in the student population and unmet housing needs in neighbouring authorities), if we are to meet the accessible greenspace standard of 3ha per 1,000 population.
3.36 The Environment Act 2021 stipulates that each region in England must produce a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), which will 'establish priorities and map proposals for specific actions to drive nature’s recovery and provide wider environmental benefits’. Local Plans must ‘take account of’ any relevant LNRS.
3.37 The relevant LNRS for B&NES is the West of England LNRS, which will cover the unitary authority areas of Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
3.38 Once the West of England LNRS is completed, it will be available to guide and inform the delivery of action for nature recovery. The areas mapped that ‘could become, of particular importance for biodiversity’ within the LNRS will also be used to define areas recognised as being of Strategic Significance within formal BNG calculations.