Thank you and a Consultative Request

Two things in this update.

Firstly thank you to those of you who were able to join us and the NT on Sunday fixing the grip at Moors Copse. This is crucial to limit the silt entering the brook. many hands made light work. A special thanks to Andrew and Tim from the NT who got there early and had half the job done before we arrived! More broadly this is a great example of how we as a community can work together with the NT. There will be some follow up maintenance sessions going forward.

Secondly; the Brook Group have been approached by the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership who have established a consultative process in developing the county’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy. They now have a draft strategy and are seeking public consultation. The strategy is VERY broad ranging and seeks to influence how planning and development takes place, including how the knotty subject of Biodiversity Net Gain is handled. The strategy will seek to influence authorities, farmers, land owners, land managers and communities about the management of nature in a broad sense. One aspect refers to “open water” habitats.

The consultation runs from today to the 19 October. The consultation is hosted on an online platform at this link here. On this platform is a SURVEY with links to the draft strategy documents and a draft Local Habitat map .

Here are links to:

• Video tutorial on using the Local Habitat Map of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy
• How to use the Local Habitat Map guide

There will also be online drop-in sessions for people to learn more or ask questions. You can sign up for these sessions at this link.

So here’s my personal take:

1. It’s great we are being asked our opinion. The Brook Group has a great interest in the nature of our local area and this substack tries to meet that interest. This is a chance for us to express our interest, opinions and knowledge to influence the county strategy accordingly. We should seize that opportunity.
2. The consultative process seems a bit complex. I suggest if you can take the survey yourself , that’s great but if not feed your comments to me and I’ll collate and put a group response in. Get your responses to me before 10 October please. I’ll collate and share where I can.
3. The thrust is nature, and that’s great, but I have a concern (of course I do!) that the heritage context seems to be underplayed and is not, at first glance, mentioned at all, aside from a vague mention of cultural importance. Heritage and Nature are of course not mutually exclusive but they need some careful management and where appropriate a little give and take. The challenge is to find what one can give and take.

I’m happy to talk any of this through with anyone. I’m slightly frustrated that there are NT Big Nature Better Access Plans, CDC Local Plans and Cotswold National Landscape Plans, and now a County Nature Plan all overlapping, and with widely varying degrees of power to implement, resources and willingness to consult. It’s complicated!