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Parish Councils have an open meeting once a year and when they publically account for their activities and actions during the year. This week Betchworth PC had its annual meeting. It was well attended by over 70 people. Norman Jackson was invited to give a short talk on nature and he used the opportunity to present the idea of the Biodiversity Park and distribute a printed leaflet explaining the idea and inviting participation. He wove together the idea that Parish Councils have a mandated duty for the biodiversity in their area and this biodiversity duty should also be accepted by all citizens if we are to act responsibily for the people who will live in the parish in 50 or 100 years time. He argued that a Biodiversity Park and what would be required to sustain it, would enable Parish Council’s and members of the community to give meaning and substance to their biodiversity duty.
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 Parish Councils (PC) are the lowest tier of local government but, in our initiative to create a Biodiversity Park they are the foundation of Governance for the four parishes within which the park is located. They are elected corporate bodies and carry out beneficial public activities in their parishes, with concerns for the health and wellbeing of their citizens and the environment. Parish Councils have an open public meeting once a year when they account for their activities and actions during the past year and draw attention to particular issues and to new policies that will affect residents. This week Buckland PC had its annual meeting and biodiversity, and the Local Nature Recovery Strategy were discussed by Councillor Debbie Jones. She highlighted the new responsibilities of the PC stemming from the Environmental Act (2021) and what was required as a result of the strengthened Biodiversity Duty namely:
Public authorities who operate in England must consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity in England. ….This means that, as a public authority, you must: Consider what you can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Agree policies and specific objectives based on your consideration. Act to deliver your policies and achieve your objectives. Report on their actions and their effects Councillor Jones provided examples of how the PC had met this requirement during the last year and explained the PC's strategy for moving forward in the future. From a biodiversity perspective, it is good to see the positive effects that Government legislation is having on decision making authorities in communities to become more aware of what biodiversity means and how they can conserve, protect and enhance biodiversity through their decisions and actions. Buckland PC is positively engaging with the idea of a Biodiversity Park which has the potential to provide a public demonstration of grassroots commitment to the biodiversity duty. Evidence of this commitment is seen in the beautiful village pond which has been maintained by residents and conservations groups for many decades. Thanks to the efforts of volunteers and the careful management of this habitat, Cllr Jones was able to report that a small breeding colony of Great Crested Newts is now established in the pond. The 2024 Biodiversity & Planning Conference, organised by Surrey Nature Partnerships was held at Dorking Halls on March 12th. Aimed primarily at planning and ecology professionals, developers and landowners, it focused on such topics as Surrey’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)/ onsite and offsite, Biodiversity Units and Credits and BNG & Habitat Banking. Inspite of the huge efforts of environmental non-government organisations (ENGOs), nature-based charities and communities, there was recognition that, nature has taken a battering in recent decades, there was considerable optimism that at legislative, planning and development, and community action levels – things are now together, and support for nature will improve. Underpinning all the new developments is the ethical principle of biodiversity duty: while Government has placed this duty on public authorities there is a sense that it is a responsibility that relates to all of us and therefore unites public authorities, ENGO’s, nature-based charities and communities in their efforts to help nature. The Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is the key strategic framework within which biodiversity priorities will be recognised. This clearly has important implications for the biodiversity park proposal. The construction of the map is controlled by well defined ecological/habitat criteria – National Designations (SAC, SPA,SSSI, NNR), Local Nature Reserves, Local Wildlife Sites (SNCI’s in Surrey) and Irreplaceable Habitats like ancient woodland, andcient and veteran trees, blanket bog, limestone pavements, coastal san dunes, spartina saltmarsh swards, meditareanean saltmarsh scrub, lowland fens. But new sites can included outside these priority areas. 27 If the responsible authority believes that additional areas require protection due to their particular importance, they should discuss making those areas local wildlife sites with the local planning authority (if this is not the responsible authority). This perhaps defines the opportunity we have in creating a Biodiversity Park that would be recognised in a Surrey LNRS, assuming that an important dimension of importance might be communities and public authorities working together to help nature enhance biodiversity. WATCH THE CONFERENCE ON YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyixbCsrzh4  We had our first team meeting on March 6th. We reviewed and approved our logo, website and introductory movie and our draft work plan, knowing that more detail would need to be added. We acknowledged the challenges ahead but felt optimistic that if we could cultivate a good level of interest and involvement we would have a productive exploration of the idea. The team felt we needed to include representatives from Brockham Parish and the Box Hill community in our planning group. Our project is all about IMAGINING so we posed the obvious question, what would success look like in March 2025 if we achieved our goals? These are our aspirations for March 2025  |
BlogThis blog is maintained by the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative Team. Its purpose is to provide brief updates of activities and interactions as the project unfolds. We also welcome posts from members of the 4Bs WhatsApp Nature Group and wider community. PagesArchives
March 2025
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