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Local Nature Recovery Strategy

What a Local Nature Recovery Strategy is

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) in England are a new approach to restoring and protecting nature. They are part of a nationwide move to create space for nature to thrive. Local Nature Recovery Strategies will create a national Nature Recovery Network (NRN). They are a requirement of the Environment Act 2021.

Norfolk's LNRS

Norfolk's LNRS Identifies opportunities and priorities for nature restoration. It consists of four parts, in addition to the Introduction, Appendices and Local Habitat Map.

Introduction

Download the Introduction of Norfolk's LNRS. (PDF, 1 MB)

Part A: 'Strategy Area Description'

This provides a description of the current state of nature in Norfolk. It summarises the habitats found in Norfolk and the pressures they face. 

Download the Part A of Norfolk's LNRS. (PDF, 2 MB)

Part B: 'Opportunities Identified'

Part B sets out the opportunities to restore and enhance habitats in Norfolk.

Download the Part B of Norfolk's LNRS. (PDF, 1 MB)

Part C: Norfolk's 'Priority Habitats, Assemblages and Species'

This outlines the practical actions needed to support things most in need of recovery including:

  • Habitats
  • Species
  • Habitat-based species assemblages

Download the Part C of Norfolk's LNRS. (PDF, 3 MB)

Part D: 'Locations for Action'

This includes the locations that could have the greatest impact on Norfolk's nature recovery. 

Download the Part D of Norfolk's LNRS. (PDF, 1 MB)

Appendices

The Appendices provide an overview of the: 

  • The legislative background and analysis of related strategies and documents
  • The methods used for species and habitat priority generation 
  • How the LNRS links to delivering wider environmental benefits 
  • The methods to create the mapping 
  • The methods we used during the engagement and consultation process. This includes how we gathered information and feedback from a wide range of views 
  • Background on the Norfolk and Suffolk Nature Recovery Partnership

Download the Appendices of Norfolk's LNRS. (PDF, 1 MB)

Local Habitat Map

The Local Habitat Map displays: 

  • Where valuable areas for nature are currently located. We describe these areas as 'areas of particular importance for biodiversity' (APIB); 
  • The locations and actions showing where and how we can create and connect habitats. We describe this as 'areas that could become of particular importance' (ACB). 

Use the Local Habitat Map.

LNRS around the country

Forty-eight Local Nature Recovery Strategies are being created across the country. Together, these will form a national plan ensuring areas for nature are:

  • Bigger
  • Better
  • More connected

The strategies also provide a blueprint for the delivery of new duties and funding streams like Biodiversity Net Gain.  

Who funds the strategy

Funding to support the creation of Norfolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is from The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 

Contact us about the strategy 

If you would like to contact us about Norfolk's LNRS, please email the delivery team on: [email protected]. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information.

The aims of the strategy

The strategy provides a blueprint for how we can work together. This includes Norfolk's local:

  • Communities
  • Landowners
  • Land managers
  • Local authorities
  • Private companies
  • Government bodies

We aim to broaden protection for nature in the planning system, and restore and recover it on the ground. 

Creating ecological networks

Establishing a 'Nature Recovery Network' to connect isolated habitats. This creates corridors that promote:

  • Species migration
  • Genetic exchange
  • Adaptation to climate change

This approach recognises that a connected landscape is more resilient and beneficial for both wildlife and people. 

Enhancing biodiversity

The protection and restoration of local wildlife, creating and improving habitats for native species. 

Green space access and connection

Improving access to, and the quality of, green spaces and natural areas. This is for both local residents and tourists. Outcomes include:

  • Physical and mental health benefits
  • Fostering a deeper connection with, and appreciation for, the natural world

Using land sustainably

Promoting land use practices that are sustainable and nature-friendly. Including encouraging everything from sustainable agriculture and forestry practices to nature-based solutions in urban planning and development. 

Engaging with communities and partners

Involving people in the local nature recovery process. This includes:

  • Communities
  • Landowners
  • Land managers
  • Local authorities
  • Private companies
  • Business
  • The third sector
  • Government bodies

Work with communities and partners means the strategy is locally grounded and widely supported. It also helped ensure that it offers social, economic and environmental benefits. 

Climate change mitigation and adaptation

Using natural solutions to combat climate change. Such as:

  • Increasing tree cover to remove carbon from the atmosphere
  • Restoring wetlands and peatlands
  • Suggesting new ways to manage farmland

Opportunities for education

Providing opportunities for environmental education and citizen science. This will help to increase community awareness and understanding of:

  • Biodiversity issues
  • The importance of healthy ecosystems

How the strategy will benefit Norfolk

Norfolk residents and communities

In both rural and urban spaces, a healthy natural environment provides us with:

  • Food
  • Clean water
  • Clean air
  • Opportunities to improve our physical and mental wellbeing

The Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is therefore a crucial part of creating healthy and resilient communities. It has direct and indirect advantages affecting virtually every aspect of societal well-being. By involving local communities in the development and implementation of the LNRS, we will foster:

  • A sense of local ownership and responsibility
  • An appreciation for biodiversity

Engaged communities are more likely to support and contribute to actions that lead to a net gain in biodiversity. 

Farmers, land owners and land managers

The LNRS will inform applications for funding from agri-environmental schemes. This will be through helping farmers and land managers identify opportunities for nature recovery actions. As a result, the LNRS will support Norfolk's agricultural sector. It will also help steer opportunities for nature-based solutions such as:

  • Flood risk management
  • Sequestering carbon through new trees, woodlands and healthier soils

Developers and planning authorities

Developers and planning authorities can use the LNRS as a decision making tool. It will help guide mandatory biodiversity net gain and other planning tools such as Green Infrastructure. The LNRS will support planning authorities to:

  • Deliver the best outcomes for wildlife
  • Make sure that development is sustainable
  • Ensure that society's overall impact on nature is positive

This all contributes to a richer, more resilient natural world. The LNRS will help achieve this as it provides a strategic, coordinated, and long-term approach to nature recovery.

Businesses, local economy and green tourism

The LNRS plays an important role in bringing green investment into the county. This is from both national and international funding sources. It showcases how nature underpins a thriving local economy. By creating local opportunities for Norfolk businesses and Green Tourism, everyone can achieve their environment and social governance (ESG) objectives. 

Who delivered the Strategy

Norfolk County Council is the responsible authority for developing and delivering Norfolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). We have done this under the shared banner of The Norfolk and Suffolk Nature Recovery Partnership, working closely with: 

  • Districts, Boroughs and City Councils 
  • Broads National Park 
  • North Norfolk Coast Protected Landscape (AONB) 
  • Local nature organisations 
  • Landowners and land managers 
  • Local stakeholders 
  • Private companies and the local economy 

When developing Norfolk and Suffolk's LNRS, we worked closely with:

  • Suffolk County Council in a shared and joined-up way, reflecting the natural habitats that sit across both Counties
  • Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire to ensure join-up across boundaries

How we created the strategy

1. Stakeholder engagement

From the beginning of the process, Norfolk County Council engaged with a wide range of local stakeholders. These include:

  • Conservation groups
  • The public
  • Landowners
  • Land managers
  • Government bodies
  • Local authorities
  • Businesses and community organisations

Engagement activities included:

  • A public and landowner survey
  • A series of workshops with the Partnership Steering Group and Themed Working Groups
  • Attending various webinars and events

The engagement process has been crucial to ensuring the strategy has local support. It has also helped make sure it is geographically and ecologically relevant to Norfolk.

2. Development of the Strategy

The core delivery team at Norfolk County Council were responsible for creating and drafting the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). Drafting the LNRS included input from a range of sources, including:

  • Geospatial data sets
  • Existing environmental strategies
  • Documents and action plans
  • Direct feedback from local experts and stakeholders

Collaboration with stakeholders played a central role in shaping the strategy throughout the process.

3. Supporting authority consultations and public consultation

To gain formal approval and endorsement of the LNRS, Responsible Authorities had to undertake three consultations before its publication:

  • Two of these consultations were with our Supporting Authorities:
    • Natural England
    • All Norfolk's Local Planning Authorities
    • The Broads Authority
    • Forestry Commission
    • Environment Agency
  • The other was a Public Consultation

The purpose of these consultations were to gain feedback on:

  • The Statement of Biodiversity Priorities and Local Habitat Map, as well as the existing nature in Norfolk
  • Opportunities we've identified for nature's recovery
  • Case studies demonstrating success of nature recovery work
  • Our methodologies for creating the LNRS

We incorporated feedback from the consultations into the final strategy, before its publication. 

Public consultation

Our public consultation for Norfolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) closed on 11 June 2025. Thank you to everyone who took part. 

Consultation report 

The consultation ran for eight weeks and gathered feedback on both the draft strategy and the Local Habitat Map. We designed this process to ensure we received a broad and inclusive range of views. The views were from residents, stakeholders, and community groups. 

We received 655 responses in total: 

  • 303 people responded to the consultation 
  • 352 people left comments on the map 

You can read a full breakdown of the responses we received in our consultation report. The report also outlines the changes we made to the LNRS based on the feedback.

Download the Norfolk LNRS Public Consultation Report. (PDF, 1 MB) 

Strategy documents 

Norfolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Norfolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) received approval from its Supporting Authorities and Government Arms Length Bodies. Norfolk County Council Cabinet endorsed it on 13 October 2025. The organisations involved were:

  • Natural England
  • All Norfolk's Local Planning Authorities
  • The Broads Authority
  • Forestry Commission
  • Environment Agency

We published the strategy on 31 October 2025.  

The published LNRS

You can access the Executive Summary of Norfolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy, the full Local Nature Recovery Strategy document and Norfolk's Local Habitat Map below: 

How we created the Local Habitat Map 

To create Norfolk's Local Habitat Map we combined:

  • Geospatial analysis
  • Stakeholder input
  • The statutory guidance from Defra

You can read about the technical methodology that went into creating the different data layers in LNRS mapping Technical Methodology (PDF, 687 KB).

This methodology is for audiences who have some familiarity of geospatial techniques. For a less technical overview, you can read appendix 4 of Norfolk's Local Nature Recovery Strategy document.

Hear from those involved

This video highlights how the LNRS aims to restore and enhance our natural environments, creating lasting benefits for both wildlife and communities. Hear directly from those involved in this short video and discover more about the future of nature recovery in Norfolk and Suffolk.

What's next

  1. Implementation: Now that we have improved the strategy, we will seek to develop and facilitate projects and initiatives that support the objectives of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). This will be ongoing over several years. Different projects will have their own timelines. It is the ambition of the LNRS to inspire new nature recovery projects on the ground. 
  2. Monitoring and review: After we begin implementation, we will monitor outcomes and perform periodic reviews of the strategy's effectiveness. This may leading to revisions and adaptations. 
  3. Strategy refresh: Defra has indicated that they will refresh the LNRS in the next 3 to 10 years. 
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