The Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee (CPOSC) were scheduled to meet on 2 April 2025 to discuss the North of Tyne Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and the review of National Landscapes Management Plans. The committee was also expected to review its monitoring report for the 2024/25 council year.

North of Tyne Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the progress of the North of Tyne Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS).

The Environment Act 2021 requires that LNRSs are prepared by responsible bodies appointed by the Secretary of State, covering all of England. Each LNRS must include:

1. A statement setting out the priorities, in terms of habitats and species, for recovering and enhancing biodiversity, and the potential measures that could achieve those priorities
2. A map identifying existing areas of importance for biodiversity and areas that could become of particular importance for biodiversity

The Secretary of State appointed the North of Tyne Combined Authority to lead the preparation of the North of Tyne LNRS, covering Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside, with that responsibility subsequently passing to the North East England Combined Authority.

As the North of Tyne Combined Authority/North East England Combined Authority lacked appropriate specialist staff, responsibility has been delegated to Northumberland County Council, with Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council and Northumberland National Park Authorities acting as supporting authorities.

Priorities and measures are being developed for five broad habitat groups:

• Important grasslands
• Freshwater wetlands
• Peatland and heathland
• Woodland, trees and scrub
• Coastal and marine

The next steps for the strategy are:

• Complete work on Step 4 priorities and measures
• Step 5 – Mapping those measures that are mappable
• Pre-consultation assessment by Natural England
• Complete any modifications required by Natural England
• Public consultation (aiming for autumn 2025)
• Analysis of all comments received during the consultation and amendments to the strategy where required, bearing in mind its statutory purposes
• Publication (late 2025/early 2026)
• All LNRS will be reviewed periodically, at times set by the Secretary of State

The LNRS will inform the delivery of Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) for farmers, and the North East England Combined Authority Environment, Coast and Rural Growth Investment Plan, which has an indicative funding allocation of £7.25m for Nature and Environment.

Delivery of LNRS priorities will be a criterion for assessing applications for Government environmental grant schemes, and are likely to be used in the same way for non-governmental schemes. Local Planning Authorities will be required to take account of LNRS in strategic planning and development management work. The LNRS will help to target delivery of biodiversity net gain¹ by providing an uplift in biodiversity unit value when delivered in LNRS priority areas, and will help to shape delivery of the emerging private sector investments in carbon and nature markets.

The Environment Act strengthened the biodiversity duty that all public bodies have from a requirement to have regard to the purpose of conserving biodiversity to an obligation to take action to conserve and enhance biodiversity, and to publish five-yearly plans for how this will be done and progress reports. Northumberland County Council’s first consideration of this duty was considered by Cabinet in November 2024, and their first biodiversity plan and report needs to be published within 12 weeks of 1 January 2026.

Review of National Landscapes Management Plans

The committee was scheduled to receive a presentation outlining the approach and timetable for the statutory review of the Northumberland Coast and North Pennines National Landscapes Management Plans.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) are a statutory designation established by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and given further impetus by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Together with National Parks, AONBs represent the nation’s finest landscapes. The purpose of AONB designation is the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty. In 2023 AONBs were renamed as National Landscapes.

S.89 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 placed a duty on all local authorities whose area includes land designated as an AONB to prepare an AONB Management Plan and to review this at least once every five years, acting jointly where the designation crosses local authority boundaries. Plan production is devolved to the management bodies in the two AONBs.

The Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 amends S.89 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, extending the duty to produce a management plan to one that also covers supporting its implementation. It also amends S.85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, placing a duty on Relevant Authorities (including all local authorities) to ‘seek to further the purpose of (National Landscape) designation in the discharging of their functions. The National Landscape management plans will give expression to what might reasonably constitute seeking to further the purpose of designation in our two National Landscapes.

The statutory management plans for the county’s two National Landscapes are subject to their periodic review during 2025. The current Northumberland Coast AONB Management Plan was reviewed in 2020 meaning that it does not legally need to be reviewed until 2025. The current plan is a four-year plan covering 2020-24 however The Partnership and Northumberland County Council agreed to extend the life of the plan by one year to ensure there was a live plan in place. The North Pennines plan review has also been delayed by a year.

The plan reviews have been delayed whilst waiting for confirmation of new Natural England guidance, and the passing of the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act, in December 2023.

The Management Plan is a statutory document and when adopted by the Local Authorities, formulates their policy for the management of the designated area and for the carrying out of their functions in relation to it. It is the principal vehicle for ensuring that the statutory purpose of designation is met and is a material consideration in the planning process. Post-Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act, it is the primary document for articulating what might constitute seeking to further the purpose of designation.

The management plans will set out:

• the underpinning legal framework for National Landscapes,
• the components of natural beauty,
• forces for change,
• desired outcomes, and measures for achieving them,
• an approach to monitoring and targets which reflects the new Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework.

The text of the plans is currently being drafted by the two National Landscape teams, in concert with other technical stakeholders, including local authority colleagues.

The proposed timetable for the plan review is:

• March 4 - Northumberland Coast National Landscape Partnership agreed proposed format and review timetable
• March 13 – Paper to EMT ahead of OSC
• April 2nd – Paper to OSC with proposed timetable for Northumberland Coast and North Pennines Management Plan review
• Summer 2025 – Draft plans endorsed by relevant governance structures ahead of eight-week public consultation
• December 9th/16th – Final plans to Northumberland County Council Cabinet for adoption

The plan for the North Pennines will take the form of a dedicated website and will include the North Pennines Nature Recovery Plan and revised versions of the current Planning Guidelines and Building Design Guide. The plan for the Northumberland Coast will be in document form, supplementary documents will include the Northumberland Coast Nature Recovery Plan and revised Highways and Public Realm Design Guide.

Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee Monitoring Report

The committee was asked to note its monitoring report for the 2024/25 council year. The report summarises the decisions and outcomes of previous meetings, and any further actions that have been taken since then.

Some of the topics that have been monitored by the committee include:

• Great Northumberland Forest Programme Update
• Highways Maintenance
• Highways Maintenance Drainage Operations
• Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service Annual Performance Report 2024/25
• Update on Library Service Redesign and Development
• Provision of Museum Services in Northumberland
• Places for People Leisure Introduction
• Highway Drainage Maintenance Action Plan
• S106 Infrastructure Funding Statement 2023-2024²
• BEST Review of Regulation and Enforcement Activities
• Common Allocation Policy Review
• Storm Arwen Update
• North East Transport Plan