A GOVERNMENT grant of £310,000 has been given to Somerset Council to lead the development of a plan to protect and enhance the county’s nature and wildlife.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) wants to see a new Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Somerset with plans to create and restore wildlife-rich habitats.

The LNRS will be a new long-term evidence-based strategy to recover, protect, and enhance nature and wildlife in Somerset.

The council will spend up to 18 months establishing what was needed to protect and restore Somerset’s nature to benefit the biodiversity of habitats and species. 

It will also look to identify further environmental benefits, such as flood regulation, water quality, and access to green space for health and wellbeing.

Working with the Somerset Local Nature Partnership, the council will engage with stakeholders across the farming, health, community, development, and natural resource management sectors to drive a co-ordinated action plan highlighting where were the most important areas for nature and identifying opportunities to restore, grow, and connect wildlife in urban and rural areas.

It will adopt a joined-up approach working with residents, groups, landowners, and organisations to build a mapped framework.

Opportunities for residents, businesses, farmers, landowners, and communities to have their say and contribute to the strategy will be shared in the coming months.

Council climate and sustainability director Kirsty Larkins said: “One of our key priorities is a green, more sustainable Somerset, and it is vital that we act now to recover and protect wildlife and nature and halt the decline of biodiversity in Somerset, playing our part in the UK-wide effort.

“This protection and enhancement goes hand in hand with our commitment to tackle climate change.

“As with any strategy of this kind, the key to its success will be collaboration, developing common goals we can all get behind, by working together and building understanding.

“We look forward to working with Somerset residents and other partners to develop this strategy together.”

The Somerset LNP is a group of representatives with various economic, social, political, and environmental interests from across the county.

LNP chairman Georgia Stokes said: “Somerset Local Nature Partnership brings together a strategic mix of business, academics, statutory and voluntary organisations to champion nature and the benefits a healthy natural world brings.

“Working with Somerset Council on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy enables a joint approach to recovering nature in the county, ensuring the people of Somerset have an opportunity to access nature where they live and work within a thriving countryside teaming with wildlife.

“Despite being renowned for its greenness, Somerset nature is struggling.

“The Somerset State of Nature report shows the loss of precious habitats which are home to important species such as adder, greater horseshoe bats, and the skylark and are iconic to Somerset.

“It is vital we work together across sector, and bring in investment, to protect, connect, and restore these and other important habitats.”

More information on the local Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the ongoing work to protect Somerset’s environment in Somerset Council’s climate strategy on its website.