New government measures announced to protect England’s landscapes

Authorities are set to introduce a new legislation which will accelerate nature recovery in some of the most beautiful areas of the country.

National parks and Areas of Outstanding National Beauty (AONBs) in England not only represent shared heritage and national identity, but they are also home to many of our most threatened species. As a result, the government have made the decision to speed up the process of recovering nature through a package of new measures.

One of the measures was announced by environment secretary Thérèse Coffey last week, which came in the form of a new legislation through the levelling up and regeneration bill.

The government has invested £25m in thriving farming businesses which are crucial to these areas through our successful Farming in Protected Landscapes – a project that has been extended to 2025 with additional funding.

Against this backdrop, authorities intend to introduce amendments to the levelling up and regeneration bill at the third reading, including enhancing protected landscape management plans and placing a stronger requirement on partners such as local authorities and public bodies to contribute to their delivery.

‘Our national parks and AONBs are home to some of our most iconic and beautiful places and these new measures will help ensure that they plan an enhanced role in the recovery of nature in our country,’ Ms Coffey said. ‘We anticipate that through these measures, protected landscapes will be able to make a major contribution to meeting out international commitment to protect 30% of land for biodiversity by 2030, as well as our Environment Act targets to halt and then reverse the decline in nature.’

News of the government helping to accelerate nature recovery in England has also come alongside government plans to publish its response to the landscapes review consultation and a new outcomes framework.

These measures will highlight the plan of action for these special places – this will be a landmark step forward in achieving the global goal to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030.

Image: Vasu Pendyala

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