The UK government was ‘seeking views on how we can improve the planning system in England to protect the environment (biodiversity net gain) and build places to live and work’…we received 670 responses to this consultation. We are finalising our analysis and expect to publish a government response to the consultation alongside the Environment Bill later this year.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/biodiversity-net-gain-updating-planning-requirements

*TVNP will keep you posted of development as they arise…

Work Starts on a Clean Air Strategy for South Tees

A first workshop to inform and gather initial ideas was held in March. The presentations were so good they are included here:

S Tees Clean Air intro

Air Quality & the Health Impacts, Public Health England: Air Pollution & Health PHE

Local Air Quality in South Tees – How Good is our Air?: Local Air Quality findings

Transport Infrastructure – Plans of the area: Local transport & air pollution

Industrial Pollution control in the South Tees area: Air Quality & Regulated Industry

Tees Valley Combined Authority: TVCA Air Quality Options 4 Change

Middlesbrough Environment City perspective: Active Travel & Modal Shift

STees Clean Air Strategy Workshop Outputs

The 2019-2022 Business Plan is finally here! TVNP Business Plan 2019-2022 

Timothy Crawshaw, Chair of TVNP states ‘Our work over the coming years will embrace the emerging opportunities and will focus on creating the business case for investment in the natural environment, securing benefits for the economy, communities and the environment. In this Business Plan we outline the key activities that the Partnership will undertake to achieve this ambition.

We welcome ‘The Festival of Thrift’ as a new member

We are pleased to welcome our latest addition to the Tees Valley Nature Partnership. This ever popular, creative celebration of sustainable living has continued to go from strength to strength and attracts around 35-40 thousand visitors a year.’ It’s not just a 2 day event’ either as Stella Hall, Festival Director affirms ‘its the culmination of a years activities across the Tees Valley and a launching point for projects and initiatives going forward into the next year’. Come this September along and visit many of our partner organisations that attend the event to promote the great work they do.

Biodiversity net gain: updating planning requirements

Planning how we use our spaces: where house building is permitted, what land is set aside for commercial development to identifying important green spaces and wildlife corridors is the responsibility of local government.  The first part is setting out the vision through the ‘Local Plan’ – crudely what goes where and the second part is responding to planning enquires and applications. The government sets out  the national requirements that informs each area and applies to all councils in England. This is called the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) supported by the National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG).

The government, through Defra have set out proposals to make biodiversity net gain necessary for developments when granting planning permission. Biodiversity net gain is an approach which aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than beforehand.

The national LNP network stepped up to the plate and provided a joint response to this consultation: LNPs Response to NET GAIN consultation Thanks to our TVNP Natural Assets Working Group who made a great contribution to this response.

The consultation ended in February we’ll keep you posted of the outcomes…

Click on the image for the full newsletter to see what has been happening since the summer

TVNP Blossoms Thanks to National Lottery Support

Thanks to £10,000 of National Lottery funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) under the Resilient Heritage Grant fund. The partnership has had almost a year for review, reflection and research and on the way gained new supporters and a higher profile for a partnership that will contribute to ensuring the future of nature and wildlife across the Tees Valley.

Building on our existing success the review identified new opportunities and priorities too. These are detailed in our new business plan which in turn has helped us secure further funding to run the partnership until March 2020.

Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project will help to develop a partnership that is confident, sufficiently resourced and accountable. This comes at a key time in the recent evolution of the Tees Valley with the new Tees Valley Combined Authority and South Tees Development Corporation. By strengthening the nature partnership, it (we?) can give a clear and loud collective voice to nature to ensure it is protected, enhanced with new opportunities for people to appreciate it. This will assist these key organisations in delivering positive change in the Tees Valley.

Commenting on the award, Timothy Crawshaw, Chair of the Tees Valley Nature Partnership said: “We are thrilled to have received this support, thanks to National Lottery players all the organisations and groups involved in nature across the Tees Valley will be able work more effectively together to help ensure a bright future for our nature and wildlife”.

Response to the Consultation on the Environmental Principles & Governance after the UK leaves the EU.

From Local Nature Partnerships across England

LNPs from across England compiled a collective response to the the governments recent consultation. See some exerts below, the full response can be viewed: LNPs Response to Consultation Principles Governance

LNPs have been cited as part of the implementation of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (25 YEP) through the development of Local Natural Capital Plans. In this light it was disappointing to see no mention of their role in this consultation document.  We believe as individual LNPs and a national network we can play a very important part in delivery of the (25 Year Environment) plan provided we are properly resourced and empowered.

We welcome and commend the comprehensive coverage in the document of past, present and proposed future governance arrangements as well as some international comparisons. We also applaud the Government’s determination, frequently emphasised, to ‘leave our environment in a better state than that which was inherited’. This ambition should be strengthened with specific targets as “better than” is open to very wide interpretation.

We consider it worthwhile to look back at the history of environmental regulation and protection and consider why, as a totality, it has not been successful. In some aspects of environmental regulation, such as water and habitats, decarbonisation of the grid and uptake of renewables, there are strong foundations to build on and it will be essential that the new body does not allow this progress to be reversed. In other aspects, the direction of travel has been largely in a negative direction as evidenced in the State of Nature Report… It is essential to use this opportunity to simplify and clarify existing arrangements while retaining and enhancing protection of the environment if the outcomes we all desire are to be achieved. This also applies to the system of designations which can be totally baffling to anyone not fully immersed in them.

The principle of proportionality as outlined in paragraph 41 should be a key underlying prerequisite. We would assert in line with our understanding of Natural Capital Principles that a healthy environment underpins a healthy economy and a healthy population. In other words it is a prerequisite of prosperity rather than a competing agenda as implied in some of the wording. It therefore should have the very highest priority and where conflicts exist the environment should be accorded precedence. If a regenerative approach with a circular economy is adopted as well as the net gain principle implemented, we believe much potential conflict can be avoided….

In summary, this document and the proposed legislation is welcomed overall and very much needed. However, we do not believe that what is proposed in the consultation is yet adequate to ensure effective future oversight of environmental legislation and we make recommendations as to how it could be strengthened. We would welcome an opportunity to comment on a more detailed proposal after this consultation and offer the support and engagement of the nature partnerships in the next stages.

Birds of Conservation Concern in the Tees Valley – March 2018

This report has been prepared by Vic Fairbrother of Teesmouth Bird Club (TBC), with input from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Tees Valley Wildlife Trust (TVWT) and RSPB.

TBC has been monitoring the birds of Teesmouth since 1960. This report is intended to act as a ‘signpost’ for planners, ecologists, developers, consultants and other land-based professions to a critical list of birds of conservation concern in the Tees Valley.