We have a long history of work on biodiversity, landscape, and ecology, working in partnership with organisations, communities and businesses.
This means that there is a considerable amount of action already underway in Bath and North East Somerset and across the West of England to deliver nature recovery.
You can read about some of our key partnerships and projects on this page.
30by30 on Our Estate
One of our key ambitions to help tackle the Ecological Emergency is to manage 30% of our estate for nature by 2030 (30by30). We own over 600 hectares of land, some of which is tenanted. The majority of the land we manage is parks and open spaces, including 119 hectares of woodland, which means our estate can make a significant contribution to nature recovery.
The 30by30 programme will expand on the work we have already done to improve the value of our estate to wildlife. Our 'Let's Get Buzzing' campaign saw us change management practices across 42 hectares of our parks, open spaces, and verges to benefit wildlife and increase communities' access to nature-rich areas. Our Bee Bold Pollinator Project created new pollinator-rich habitats at eight sites across Bath and North East Somerset.
We have secured funding to provide more capacity, expertise and equipment needed to deliver 30by30, and we will be seeking further funding through public (e.g. Countryside Stewardship) and private (e.g. Biodiversity Net Gain) sources.
We also plan to build on successful examples of community management, such as Charlcombe Community Nature Reserve and Lyncombe Hill Fields, and make the best use of communities' interest in helping to manage sites for nature through, for example, 'Friends of' groups. As well as helping us to manage more land for nature, this has the benefit of engaging more people with the natural environment and building a sense of community.
Tree planting
In 2019 we committed to planting 100,000 trees by 2023 as a key action to tackle the Climate and Ecological Emergencies. Over 17,000 trees have been planted on land that we manage and on our streets since then.
A further 6,500 trees were planted in private gardens following our tree sale initiative, and 2,000 whips have been planted by parishes that participated in our Parish Giveaway Scheme. The remaining trees were planted by private landowners and partner organisations.
Bathampton Meadows
We transferred 24 hectares of our land at Bathampton Meadows to the National Trust in 2022 to safeguard the site for nature and people. Together with adjacent farmland acquired by the National Trust, the site will form a nature-rich green corridor running along the River Avon from the centre of Bath.
The National Trust is improving biodiversity on the Meadows through restoring 30 hectares of wildflower meadows, creating five hectares of new wetland habitat, planting new wood pasture and orchards, and hedgerow restoration.
Policy and operations
Select a topic below to find out how we're responding to the Ecological Emergency through our policies and operations.
Our Local Plan guides development in Bath and North East Somerset. We were one of the first councils to adopt Biodiversity Net Gain requirements in January 2023 as part of our Local Plan Partial Update, over a year ahead of its mandatory introduction. This means major developments in the District have been required to deliver net gains for nature since 2023.
As part of this update, we also strengthened our Local Plan Policy NE3: Sites, Habitats and Species, which seeks to "conserve and increase the abundance and diversity of B&NES' wildlife habitats and species".
We are now in the process of revising our Local Plan, which will include new policies and development requirements to ensure development is nature positive. We will also be looking to develop a strategic approach to the provision of nature-rich, accessible green spaces that new development will require.
We stopped using herbicides containing glyphosate on our streets and pavements in 2021 and only use herbicides in very restricted circumstances, including the treatment of non-native invasive species.
We are exploring more efficient alternatives to digging out and sweeping weeds, such as the use of biodegradable foam or heat-based treatments.
We no longer use peat in landscaping and horticulture within our parks and at council owned properties.
Tackling the Climate Emergency and delivering nature recovery is being embedded in our decision making via our Doughnut Decision Tool. This requires decisions to be considered through the lens of doughnut economics, capturing the impact on our planetary boundaries and our social foundation.
Our Procurement Strategy, published in 2024, includes 'embedding sustainability and climate action into all procurement activity' as one of its six priorities. This recognises that our spending can have a significant impact on helping the us achieve our net zero and nature positive ambitions.
Transport projects in B&NES, being delivered through the West of England's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, are including a voluntary requirement to deliver 20% Biodiversity Net Gain, ensuring they are delivering positive outcomes for nature as well as people.
Delivering nature recovery across the district
As a Local Authority, we are uniquely placed to facilitate nature recovery across the District. To do so, we work closely with various partners and stakeholders.
Select a topic below to find out how we're helping to deliver nature recovery across B&NES.
The Investment & Delivery Plan is a component of the Greener Places – Green Infrastructure Framework for Bath and North East Somerset 2025 to 2035. The Plan focusses on the delivery of landscape scale green infrastructure programmes and urban greening.
We are currently producing a Tree and Woodland Strategy for B&NES, which will set out a vision and priorities for trees and woodland across the district.
We have already mapped opportunities for increasing tree and woodland cover across B&NES, helping us to target future planting and woodland creation in the most appropriate way. This mapping will be updated to inform the Strategy by taking into account the West of England Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and opportunities for trees and woodlands to reduce flooding and improve water quality.
We supported Avon Needs Trees and the Forest of Avon Trust in securing two exciting opportunities for woodland creation in B&NES: The 40 hectare Great Avon Wood, and the 171 hectare Lower Chew Forest. These are significant contributions towards our ambition to increase tree canopy cover across the district by 650 hectares by 2030.
Our Nature Recovery Manager led the development of the West of England Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), which was the first in the country to be published in November 2024.
The LNRS sets out the priorities for nature recovery across the West of England and maps the locations where action will have the biggest impact, helping to direct funding and resources for nature recovery.
We are using the LNRS to inform our work on nature recovery, including the development of our Tree and Woodland Strategy for the District, our Climate and Nature Strategy, and how we are managing our land for the benefit of nature.
One of the biggest challenges over the next five years will be securing sufficient public and private funding to enable nature recovery. We are working in partnership at the West of England level (and beyond) to facilitate investment in and delivery of large, high-impact projects that deliver the West of England Local Nature Recovery Strategy, as per the West of England Nature Partnership (WENP) Strategy.
The Connecting Catchments Project, which is co-funded by Wessex Water, Bristol Water and B&NES Council, will produce Catchment Investment Portfolios offering large-scale propositions for investment into nature recovery and climate resilience in the Chew catchment, and the Cam and Wellow catchments.
We have published guidance to enable parish and town councils to take action for nature. A number of Parish and Town Councils are using this opportunity to create a plan for nature.
Partnerships and projects
Select a topic below to find out more about our partnerships and projects to address the Ecological Emergency.
We are a founding member of the West of England Nature Partnership (WENP). WENP is a cross-sector partnership between local and regional government, environmental charities, businesses, government organisations, farming representatives and many others.
We are working regionally and locally towards WENP's vision of a thriving natural environment that underpins a healthy and resilient society and economy - vibrant landscapes where nature and people thrive together.
WENP's current priority is to facilitate investment in and delivery of large, high-impact projects that deliver the West of England Local Nature Recovery Strategy and wider regional goals for nature, people and place.
We are a member of the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership (BACP), which aims to improve the water environment and restore the health of the catchment. A key aim of the Bristol Avon Catchment Plan 2022-2027 is to restore biodiversity and ecology connectivity.
The Bristol Avon Fish Recovery Strategy sets out BACP's vision for thriving fish populations in healthy rivers and opportunities to achieve this. Its guiding principles are to improve freshwater biodiversity and serve as a tool to assess the value of rivers in decision making.
The Strategy will be used to inform the development and delivery of the region's Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and will be used to inform delivery of land management schemes and strategic green infrastructure projects, as well as the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain.
We are part of the Natural History Consortium (NHC), a charitable collaboration of 14 organisations. The NHC works together to test and develop best practice to help engage people with the environment and natural world.
The NHC organises the Festival of Nature, which is the UK's largest celebration of the natural world; the popular citizen science initiatives BioBlitz and the UK City Nature Challenge; and the Communicate Conference. It is a vital collaboration in improving people's access to and engagement with nature across our region.
Monitoring our progress
Annual progress report
Our Annual Climate and Nature Progress Report provides an update on our climate and nature work and includes a progress update on actions identified in the Ecological Emergency Action Plan.
Biodiversity Report for 2021 to 2025
The Environment Act 2021 introduced a strengthened 'Biodiversity Duty'’, meaning that all public authorities (including local authorities) must:
- Consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity
- Agree policies and specific objectives based on their consideration
- Act to deliver their policies and achieve their objectives
Local Authorities must publish a Biodiversity Report, which documents the policies and actions carried out to comply with the biodiversity duty.