Decision

Northumberland Stewardship and Rural Growth Investment Programme – Nature Recovery Response

RESOLVED that

(a )     Cabinet accept, in principle and subject to the approval of the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) Cabinet, the role of leading the development of the statutory North of Tyne Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) on behalf of the Combined Authority;

(b )     Cabinet endorse the Council’s role as accountable body for the participation of the English part of the Borderlands area in the Government’s Local Investment in Natural Capital (LINC) programme;

(c )     Cabinet accept the anticipated grant awards of £0.285 million and £1.000 million respectively for the development of the North of Tyne LNRS and the delivery of the Borderlands LINC into the Council’s revenue budget;

(d )     Cabinet agree to declaring an ecological emergency to further strengthen the Council’s commitment to rural stewardship and to demonstrate the significant role of nature recovery in mitigating the climate emergency;

(e )     Cabinet develop a response, within the context of our Climate Change Action Plan, to the ecological emergency using our new obligations under the Environment Act 2021 as a framework; namely the development of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy; the strengthened duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity with a requirement to publish action plans and progress reports; and the introduction of mandatory biodiversity net gain in the planning system; and

(f )      A progress report be made to Cabinet in six months.