Berkshire's Local Nature Recovery Strategy

What is a Local Nature Recovery Strategy and who has developed it?

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are spatial strategies to recover nature across England. There are 48 in total. Together, they form a Nature Recovery Network across England. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have been responsible for developing the Berkshire LNRS. Bracknell Forest Council, Reading Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire District Council, Wokingham Borough Council and Natural England have supported the creation. The Environment Act 2021 states that every county area must develop a Local Nature Recovery Strategy. See further Regulations and Guidance for LNRSs.

Find a blog here from Natural England for more information on Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

When can I see the published strategy?

We are currently working on publishing the Berkshire Nature Recovery Strategy. This means that it has been drafted, consulted on and edited, and is now obtaining support to be published. We anticipate publication to be this October (2025). Once published, the strategy will be available on this website.

How is a Local Nature Recovery Strategy created?

Each Nature Recovery Strategy has collaborated at every stage with many groups, from landowners to public bodies, to eNGOs, community groups and the public. A combination of surveys, a Public Consultation, pins on maps, working groups and workshops collected information that has made this strategy. First, we mapped areas that are currently good for biodiversity, and wrote about the biodiversity of the area, including its history and future opportunities and threats. Then, our Priorities and actions for nature recovery were agreed and used alongside computer modelling to create a Local Habitat Map. These depict what needs to happen to achieve the agreed aims for nature. This links with delivery mechanisms, such as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), other funding opportunities and to habitat management guidance. See more in the flowchart below.

What will the Berkshire LNRS be used for?

Once published, our strategy will be a blueprint for Berkshire's Nature Recovery Network that will help us prioritise where and how we should invest and target action in the short-term. It will be a crucial delivery plan for the long-term ambitions of each Local Authority's Biodiversity Action Plans, climate strategies and more.

The Berkshire LNRS will help to guide:

• Planning and development: How and where developers will deliver their new Biodiversity Net Gain duties - including the delivery of biodiversity offsetting and by identifying spatial allocations for nature.
• Agri-environment funding: It will help shape how future funding for farmers and land managers will be used under the new Environmental Land Management Scheme.
• Nature-based solutions: It may strengthen local ambitions for nature-based solutions to climate change by identifying priority areas for trees, wetland and other key habitats.
• Investment: It aims to help to attract and guide future investment in Berkshire's Nature Recovery Network.

Why are Local Nature Recovery Strategies needed?

England is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. To recover our nature, we need to understand what should happen at a local level. That's what Local Nature Recovery Strategies are aiming to do - use local knowledge to develop a realistic and accurate plan of where nature recovery should and could occur, and help to deliver those ambitions.

What did our Berkshire community tell us they want to see in Berkshire's Nature Recovery?

As well as the longer documents that can be viewed when published, a local artist also created a visual representation of people's ideas for Berkshire's nature recovery, as told during workshops.

Visualisation of stakeholder views on Berkshire Nature Recovery. Credits to Natalie Ganpatsingh.