Purpose

To provide the Cabinet Member with an update of the work being led by Derbyshire County Council in its role as the responsible authority for the preparation of Derbyshire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Decision

That the Cabinet Member Approves that public consultation on the draft Derbyshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy should take place from 14 February to 20 March 2025 and notes the approach, progress made and identified next-steps in preparing the Derbyshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, as well as acknowledges the significant and valued contributions of a wide variety of people and organisations in co-producing the Derbyshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy to date.

Reasons for the decision

To ensure the Cabinet Member’s approval to the commencement of the LNRS public consultation and understands and supports the wider work being undertaken to ensure the Council fulfils its duty as the responsible authority for Derbyshire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy. 

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Do Nothing - The proposed approach to preparing Derbyshire’s LNRS is designed to ensure compliance with the Council’s statutory duties as the responsible authority for the LNRS. Failure to meet the Council’s statutory duties is not an option. This option is not recommended.

Option 2: Alternative Engagement Models - The approach for governance and stakeholder engagement has been established following the assessment of other models which have not offered the extent of opportunities for the collaborative production of the LNRS through the engagement of stakeholder organisations. Such options have been rejected given the strong desire of the Government and the Council to seek informed debate, sharing of perspectives, consensus building, agreed priorities, and thereby a deliverable county-wide improvement strategy for nature. This option is not recommended.