NOT FOR PUBLICATION

North Yorkshire Council

Environment Executive Members

30 October 2023

Non-Statutory Public Consultation Plan for the North Yorkshire and York Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS)

Report of the Assistant Director – Environmental Services and Sustainability

1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1 To recommend that the Executive Member for Managing the Environment following consultation with the Corporate Director of Environment authorises the non-statutory public consultation plan for the North Yorkshire and York Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS).

2.0 BACKGROUND

2.1 During June 2023, Defra appointed North Yorkshire Council as the Responsible Authority (RA) to lead production and publishing of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) covering the whole administrative county of North Yorkshire and the City of York.

2.2 The LNRS Regulations and Statutory Guidance require all consultation draft LNRS strategies to go through public consultation. Statutory public consultation needs to be preceded by formal consultation with North Yorkshire Council’s Supporting Authorities (City of York Council, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, North York Moors National Park Authority and Natural England) and the seven neighbouring LNRS Responsible Authorities. It is expected that formal consultation with the Supporting Authorities and neighbouring Responsible Authorities will take place during early summer 2024, with statutory public consultation following in autumn 2024.

2.3 In advance of the statutory public consultation, North Yorkshire Council proposes non-statutory public consultation with the citizens of North Yorkshire and York so they can help shape the LNRS. The plan for the non-statutory public consultation has been prepared in consultation with the four Supporting Authorities.

3.0 NON-STATUTORY PUBLIC CONSULTATION PLAN

3.1 The proposed approach to the non-statutory public consultation will involve a launch in early November 2023 with a news release, social media post and an article in Your North Yorkshire. An online survey consultation (see Appendix A) will open in early November and will be available to the general public for 12 weeks. The findings will be reviewed, reported on during early 2024 and will help to shape the LNRS. The online survey will signpost interested parties to volunteering opportunities and engagement in citizen science and the option to stay informed with progress on the LNRS. During November, two early evening webinars on the LNRS are proposed for town and parish councils and interested parties respectively. In person workshops with youth councils in York and the North Yorkshire area are also being considered.

3.2 In addition to the online survey and webinars, introductory emails will be sent to MPs across North Yorkshire and York, a North Yorkshire all-member briefing on LNRS and biodiversity net gain (BNG) is scheduled for 8 November and six-monthly briefings are proposed for the six area constituency committees.

4.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

4.1 The LNRS will contribute to the following specific Council Plan (2023-2027) ambitions:

Ø Place and Environment

• A clean, environmentally sustainable and attractive place to live, work and visit

Ø Economy

• Culture, heritage, arts and sustainable tourism all play their part in the economic growth of the county

Ø Health and Wellbeing

• People are supported to have a good quality of life and enjoy active and healthy lifestyles

Ø People

• People can achieve their full potential through lifelong education and learning

5.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

5.1 No alternatives options were considered. The report is for information only.

6.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

6.1 Costs incurred by the public consultation plan will be covered by the S31 grant from Defra, accepted by NYC on 28 July 2023. The revenue grant monies of £206,971.00 for tax year 2023-2024 was received by North Yorkshire Council on 22 August.

6.2 The public consultation exercise is being led by the NYC Comms Team and is expected to cost up to £5,000.

7.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1 There are no legal implications.

8.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

8.1 An Equality Impact Assessment screening has been undertaken and there is no requirement for a full EIA.

9.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

9.1 A Climate Change Impact Assessment screening has been undertaken and there is no requirement for a full CCIA. See Appendix B.

10.0

RECOMMENDATION

10.1

To recommend that the authorisation of the non-statutory public consultation plan for the North Yorkshire and York Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS).

APPENDICES:

Appendix A – Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) online survey

Appendix B – Climate Change Impact Assessment

MICHAEL LEAH

Assistant Director, Environmental Services and Sustainability

County Hall

Northallerton

13 October 2023

Report Author – Michael Leah, Assistant Director Environmental Services

Presenter of Report – Tim Johns, Policy Officer, Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Local Nature Recovery Strategy consultation

To address the decline of nature and to improve the environment, every county in England will be required by law to produce a Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

The collective strategies will aim to restore, create and connect habitats across England through action plans and objectives.

They are also a way for nature specialists, professional experts, businesses and local residents to come together to find out about ways to restore and enhance nature.

We need your help to prepare our Local Nature Recovery Strategy for North Yorkshire and York and want to know more about why you care for nature, your thoughts on wildlife species and if you’ve seen examples of projects in your local area to restore or protect nature.

The survey should take you no longer than 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

1. I care most about nature because… Please rank your top 3 in order of preference:

· It is important for our mental health and wellbeing

· To help tackle climate change

· It is important for our heritage and sense of identity

· It protects us from natural hazards like flooding

· It is good our physical health and keeping active

· It is important for our jobs and businesses

· It helps attract visitors

· Nature is not important to me

2. Which of the following habitats and landscapes in North Yorkshire and York do you think are the most important for nature recovery?

	Definitely agree	Somewhat agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Somewhat disagree	Definitely disagree
Grasslands (e.g. meadows and pastures)	o	o	o	o	o
Woodlands and forests	o	o	o	o	o
Wetlands (e.g. reed beds)	o	o	o	o	o
Rivers, lakes and streams	o	o	o	o	o
Urban green spaces	o	o	o	o	o
Coastline and sea	o	o	o	o	o
Moorlands	o	o	o	o	o

3. If applicable, please add any other areas of habitats and landscapes that you believe need protecting

4. Which groups of wildlife species do you think are most in need of nature recovery?

	Definitely agree	Somewhat agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Somewhat disagree	Definitely disagree
Birds (e.g. lapwings, yellow hammers and red kites)	o	o	o	o	o
Land mammals (e.g. otters, water voles and hedgehog)	o	o	o	o	o
Amphibians (e.g. frogs, toads and newts)	o	o	o	o	o
Reptiles (e.g. lizards and snakes)	o	o	o	o	o
Pollinators (e.g. bees, butterflies and moths)	o	o	o	o	o
Other invertebrates (e.g. beetles and spiders)	o	o	o	o	o
Fish (e.g. salmon, trout)	o	o	o	o	o
Marine mammals (e.g. dolphins and whales)	o	o	o	o	o

5. If applicable, please add any details about any other groups of wildlife species you think are most in need of nature recovery?

6. What examples have you seen of people working together to restore and protect nature and/or the natural environment in North Yorkshire and York?

o No mow May (national campaign to encourage people not to mow grass during May)

o Areas of new tree planting

o Creating meadows

o Nature friendly spaces in towns and villages

o Restoring areas of degraded peat on moorland

o Restoring old quarries with ponds, grasses, trees and shrubs

o Reconnecting to our historic floodplains

o Creating ponds

o Restoring rivers

o Work along the coastline, including cleaning beaches

o Other

o I’ve not seen examples

a. For the examples where you ticked ‘yes, where were they located?

7. At the presence moment in time, how concerned are you about nature in North Yorkshire and York?

Not concerned at all	Slightly concerned	Somewhat concerned	Quite concerned	Very concerned
o	o	o	o	o

8. Which of the following are giving you the greatest concerns about nature decline? (Please rank your top 3, with 1 being most important to you):

o New developments (housebuilding, employment sites and roads)

o Agricultural practices

o Climate change

o Water quality

o Air quality

o Mining and quarrying

o Other

9. If you have anything else you would like to share about how we can improve nature, please let us know.

10. Which of these statements best represent you?

o North Yorkshire resident

o City of York resident

o Landowner, farmer or land tenant

o Business

o Community organisation

o Town or parish council

o Environmental professional

o Utility company

o Student or young person

o Visitor to North Yorkshire

11. How old are you?

o 15 and under

o 16-24

o 25-34

o 35-44

o 45-54

o 55-64

o 65-74

o 75 and above

o Prefer not to say

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey.

Your response will help support the creation of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for North Yorkshire and York.

If you would like to be kept informed and share your views on the draft strategy, please include your contact details below.

Name

Email address

Volunteering opportunities

There are many organisations in the North Yorkshire and York area that carry-out nature recovery projects across the area.

There are also many opportunities to get involved in many types of volunteering including tree planting, hedgerow planting and clean ups of natural spaces. If you are interested in getting involved, please visit the following organisations:

· Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

· North York Moors National Park

· Yorkshire Dales National Park

· Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

· Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

· Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

· The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)

The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.

Remember to think about the following;

· Travel

· Construction

· Data storage

· Use of buildings

· Change of land use

· Opportunities for recycling and reuse

Environmental factor to consider	For the council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	No Effect on emissions	No effect on emissions
Waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste
Water use	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	No effect on pollution	Decreases pollution	Decreases pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	Increases resilience	Increases resilience	Increases resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	Positive impact on ecology	Positive impact on ecology	Positive impact on ecology
Heritage and landscape	Increases protection of heritage and landscape	Increases protection of heritage and landscape	Increases protection of heritage and landscape

If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Decision (Please tick one option)	Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate:	ü	Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	Much of the public consultation will be undertaken online using the survey and webinars. Paper copies of the survey will be available on request; however it is predicted that very few requests will be made for this service. Workshops with youth councils will need to be accessed by car, however the number of workshops will be very low in number, with no more than four events taking place during the consultation period. Any greenhouse gas emissions would be kept to a minimum. The community and social benefits of meeting the young people in person is considered to be an effective way of engaging them in nature recovery and wider environmental benefits. Undertaking the same workshop online would be considered less effective.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Michael Leah
Date	13 October 2023

Title of proposal	Non-Statutory Public Consultation Plan for the North Yorkshire and York Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS)
Brief description of proposal	The proposed approach to the non-statutory public consultation will involve a launch in early November 2023 followed by an online survey consultation (papers copies available on request via the NYC call centre) will open in early November and will be available to the general public for 12 weeks. The findings will be reviewed, reported on during early 2024 and will help to shape the LNRS. The online survey will signpost interested parties to volunteering opportunities and engagement in citizen science and the option to stay informed with progress on the LNRS. During November, two early evening webinars on the LNRS are proposed for town and parish councils and interested parties respectively. In person workshops with youth councils in York and the North Yorkshire area are also being considered.
Directorate	Environment
Service area	Environment and Climate Change
Lead officer	Tim Johns
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	n/a