Residents’ views sought on draft strategy to protect local natural world
Protecting and enhancing the natural world within Three Rivers district is the aim of a bold new draft strategy – and local people are being invited to have their say on it.
Protecting and enhancing the natural world within Three Rivers district is the aim of a bold new draft strategy – and local people are being invited to have their say on it.
Three Rivers District Council has published its draft Nature Recovery Strategy to outline its approach to protection of the local natural world. The strategy recognises the rich diversity of wildlife already present within the district, both in protected nature reserves as well as public open spaces, residential gardens, grass verges and more.
Cllr Phil Williams, the council’s Lead Member for Environmental Services, Climate Change and Sustainability, said: “It is an immense duty to pass on our natural world to the generations that follow us, so the decisions we make today will have a huge importance for decades to come. That is why it is so important to cherish, protect and where possible do everything we can to enhance the glorious natural world around us – from the smallest insects to the grandest of old oaks. Please have a look at our draft strategy and have your say today.”
At the centre of the strategy is a five-year action plan, which identifies and prioritises actions to be undertaken by the council and others for the benefit of biodiversity. The strategy has four main themes; Rivers & Wetlands; Trees & Woodlands; The Urban Environment and The Countryside. Broader than specific habitats, the themes aim to encompass the key natural environments found in Three Rivers, with each accompanied by a case study. For each theme a number of actions have been identified which aim to address key priorities for biodiversity in those environments.
Three Rivers is a complex mix of landscapes and habitats from rural to urban areas that include woodland, grassland, wetland and farmland, among others. Approximately two square miles of the district is within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), comprising a mosaic of grassland, woodland, arable land and its distinctive chalk streams.
The strategy
can be seen here. Residents can respond by answering the short questionnaire below and adding any additional comments or suggestions in the space provided.
The closing date for this consultation is Sunday 22 January 2023 at 11pm.