The Forest of Bowland Joint Advisory Committee met to discuss the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project, the National Landscape Management Plan Review, and the 2024/25 revised estimates and 2025/26 budget. The committee approved the proposed 2025/26 Revenue Budget and appointed members to the FiPL Local Assessment Panel for 2024/25. They also noted the updates on the Lancashire Nature Recovery Strategy and the National Landscape Unit Activity Report.

Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project (HARP)

The committee received an update on the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project (HARP) from United Utilities. The project, estimated to cost £1.75 billion, involves constructing six tunnelling sections of the Haweswater Aqueduct, totalling 50 kilometres, to safeguard water supplies for customers across Lancashire, Cumbria, and Greater Manchester.

United Utilities announced that the preferred bidder to form the Competitively Appointed Provider (CAP) is STRABAG Equitix Consortium. They are working through the final stages of the procurement process and hope to award a contract before the end of the first half of 2025.

Some enabling work may start towards the end of 2025, with main construction activity anticipated to start in 2026. United Utilities will attend the next Joint Advisory Committee meeting in the summer to share more detailed plans.

The Forest of Bowland Joint Advisory Committee previously requested that a further update on the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project be brought to this meeting, with the contractor in attendance, to share firm plans and the effects that the project will have in the Forest of Bowland area and how it will be managed.

National Landscape Management Plan Review

Tony Lund, Forest of Bowland National Landscape, Lancashire County Council, updated members on the National Landscape Management Plan Review. The new Five Year Management Plan is expected to be effective from April 2026 to March 2031.

Natural England is revising the landscape character assessment, with the revision due to be published in April 2025, which will inform the Management Plan Review.

The review process is split into three phases:

1. Scoping and preparing the Review
2. Undertaking the Review
3. Publishing and adopting the Review

The committee is asked to note the report, offer any comments, and note the guidance papers from Defra and National Landscapes Association on the Levelling up-& Regeneration Act (LURA) 2023 and new duties.

Section 245 of the LURA amends the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW) to create two new duties on ‘relevant authorities':

• A duty placed on relevant authorities in respect of their actions, decisions and operations whereby they ‘must seek to further’ the statutory purposes of Protected Landscapes.
• A duty on local authorities to support the production and implementation of management plans.

Revised Estimates 2024/25 and Budget 2025/26

Tony Lund, Forest of Bowland National Landscape, Lancashire County Council, presented the revised estimates for 2024/25 and the revenue budget for 2025/26.

During 2024/25 there was a slight underspend in salaries due to gaps in recruitment, which allowed an increase in the projects budget. There was a small overspend of £2,915.

The committee approved the proposed 2025/26 Revenue Budget. Core revenue funding will remain flat at £259,075. With local partner contributions remaining unchanged but staff costs increasing, there will be a smaller project delivery budget for 2025/26, likely to be about £54,356 for the year.

The National Landscape team will seek to use the 'Projects' Fund allocation to bring in additional external funding (e.g. National Lottery Heritage Fund, Peatland Restoration Grant Scheme, private sector and landowner contributions).

There will also be a capital uplift of around £276,000, targeted at projects that assist the National Landscape in furthering the government's 30X30 targets¹.

It has also been confirmed that there is a national allocation of £6.8M capital funding for Access for All within Protected Landscapes for 2025/26. The National Landscape team are drawing up a capital programme for delivery in 2025/26.

Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) Programme

The Committee appointed the current members Colin Price, Yorkshire Local Councils Association, and Andrew Taylor, Bowland Landowners and Farmers Group, of the FiPL Local Assessment Panel to continue as members for 2024/25.

Lancashire Nature Recovery Strategy

Emma Mackenzie, Forest of Bowland, National Landscape, Lancashire County Council, provided an update on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). The final Statement is expected to be published in Summer 2025. The Committee noted the update and welcomed a further update at the next meeting.

National Landscape Unit Activity Report

Hetty Byrne, Cathy Hopley and Tarja Wilson, Forest of Bowland National Landscape, Lancashire County Council, presented the National Landscape Unit Activity Report (April-October 2024). The report includes information on:

• Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme
• Forest of Bowland Farmer Group
• Haytime and BeeWalks
• Quernmore and Conder Valley – Landscape Enhancement
• Three Counties Partnership
• Peatland Restoration Project Capital Works
• Buss Service 11 Walks
• Nature Calling
• Bowland Life Through a Lens
• Connecting People and Nature
• Days to Remember
• Festival Bowland
• Removing Barriers: Access for All Conference
• Access for All
• Feast Bowland 2024